The question examined in this paper is: what is known exactly about variables that affect long-term retention of knowledge learned in school? U. Neisser (1982) asserts that "it is difficult to find even a single study, ancient or modern, of what is retained from academic instruction." Further, popular belief holds that much of the knowledge…

The question of what determines the appropriate use of self-directed learning (SDL) as opposed to teacher-directed learning (TDL) for midcareer professionals was examined through a review of the literature on SDL, SDL in professional development, and through interviews with 12 midcareer adults in a wide variety of professions. In general, the…

Prior research on learning has been linked to instruction by the derivation of general principles of instructional design from learning theories. However, such design principles are often difficult to apply to particular instructional issues. A new method for relating research on learning to instructional design is proposed: Different ways of…

This paper presents a framework utilized in two research projects for mathematics teacher learning based on what is understood about students' mathematics learning. The framework is grounded in a social constuctivist perspective and builds on Karplus' Learning Cycle. A framework for mathematics education identifies a learning cycle that progresses…

This yearbook is the seventh for the Mathematics Education Research in Finland series and contains ten articles presented at the decennial jubilee colloquium. The first three articles discuss Constructivism both in general and with regard to mathematics education. Analysis is directed to the origins of constructivism, to the learning of…

Calls for the unification of mathematics education research have been made from many pedagogic perspectives, particularly with respect to the need for raising dynamic models that bridge the learning-teaching gap and that portray the ways that the meanings of specific mathematical procedures and concepts are constructed within individual…

This final report of the Group Errorless Teaching Strategies Research Project is organized by the project objectives and covers planned and actual activities and outcomes. Objective 1 involved a review of the literature related to teaching students with mild and moderate mental handicaps in group settings and resulted in three articles which…

Stressing that learning to write is learning to think, a series of workshops showed teachers in the content area how to use writing in their classrooms. Following a brief introduction to the program, workshop participants developed eight guidelines for creating effective writing assignments: (1) make all assignments worthwhile, (2) make them…

Prepared as part of a series applying recent research in oral and written communication instruction to classroom practice, this booklet describes five situations where writing and speaking experiences are used as a way to learn subject matter. The first section of the booklet describes the learning that takes place in the home, where writing and…

Over the last decade, the development of computer software and hardware directed toward education and the teaching and learning process has had tremendous impact on course delivery (Glahn and Gen, 2002; Katz, 2003). During this period, higher education has been witness to fundamental changes from courses delivered in the traditional face-to-face…

This study examined the relative effectiveness of different types of computer feedback (both corrective and noncorrective) on student achievement. A total of 41 students in grades 9 and 10 comprised the two treatment groups. The subjects all interacted with a computer program written by the researcher. The first treatment group received corrective…

Only by examining the way teachers actually use instructional time and engage students in the teaching-learning process can educators gain a clearer understanding of student learning. A critical examination of students' opportunity to learn should include the goals a teacher holds for students and the tasks assigned, the teaching methods utilized,…

The best way to teach writing is to make it the way to learn something else. Instructors need to look at written communication as it is used in real life. When students take pains with their writing, it is because what they have to say is important to them. The students' need to communicate a particular meaning for a particular purpose guides them…

Because of its ability to record and represent process, the computer can provide a powerful, motivating, and as yet untapped tool for focusing the students' attention directly on their own thought processes and learning through reflection. Properly abstracted and structured, the computational medium can capture the processes by which a novice or…

Focusing on talk as the vehicle through which the reading and writing processes can become more interactive and can more closely approach the processes of learning, the lessons presented in this booklet provide examples of how teachers can construct learning strategies to help children "talk their way into meaning" against a framework of…