Reports on a study of 12 U.S. and Russian elementary students working with a mathematics computer software program. Finds that students working together learned the program's concepts faster. Discusses implications of the findings and the significance of sociohistorical frameworks on cognitive processes. (CFR)

The work we report in this special issue attempted to exploit the power of technology and cognitive theory to help make conceptual systems taught in large college courses truly useful in students' future lives. Facing evidence that traditional instructional models have not succeeded in this regard, we sought feasible course designs and…

This article focuses on the social practices of propagating and circulating memes within Internet environments as a significant dimension of cultural production and transmission. Memes (pronounced "meems") are contagious patterns of cultural information that are passed from mind to mind and which directly shape and transmit key actions and…

In this paper, the Adolescent Sexual Abuser Project (ASAP) assessment pack-Dutch Revised Version (ASAP-D) is presented. The ASAP-D is an assessment instrument which measures the personality characteristics that are generally considered relevant in the literature for the development and perpetuation of sexually abusive behaviour in juveniles. After…

There is growing concern in the United States about the education of the students regarded as least likely to succeed in school. Indeed, a major thrust of U.S. President Bush's No Child Left Behind legislation is designed to meet the educational needs of those students who traditionally have struggled the most in school. Variously labeled as…

The author offers an analysis of the failures and insights she experienced working with adolescents at a progressive school while discussing how the students understood and experienced race and identity -- their own and that of others. While she encountered students who were willing to take her into their worlds, her efforts fell flat when her…

Primary school learners' first encounters with mathematics in a traditional learning environment often create lifelong "math phobia."(Papert 1980) The situation in a country emerging from an oppressive education system designed to educationally disempower the majority of the population is much worse. The typical scenario in a previously…

This review covers the psychological literature of the last 30 years regarding the personality and motivational characteristics of individuals with mental retardation. The first section is a brief historical review and critical examination of the various conceptual models and theories regarding personality and motivational processes in persons…

This document contains 47 selected papers from the 1995 International Visual Literacy Association (IVLA) conference. Topics include: the cultural significance of tombstone iconography; the predicted impact of multimedia on education and entertainment; the effects of digital imaging on the art of photography; visual representation of the structure…

This guide is a collection of practical ideas for teaching listening skills to learners of a second language. Most are contributed by teachers of English as a Second Language, but the activities may be appropriate for other languages. Each idea is described briefly, with information given about appropriate proficiency level(s), specific aims,…

This book provides an overview of cognitive approaches to learning disabilities, the theoretical and methodological underpinnings that support them, and the body of knowledge that such work has generated. Part 1 contains the following five papers: "The Educational Perspective" (Wayne P. Hresko and others); "Educational Trends in Learning…

This feasibility study explored the automated data collection, scoring, and reporting of children's complex problem-solving processes and performance in Web-based information-rich environments. Problem solving was studied using realistic problems in realistic contexts demanding multiple cognitive processes in the domain of environmental science.…

Current concepts of critical thinking need to be reconstrued into the much broader concept of "critical being" and applied to higher education. Under this construct, critical persons (students) become more than just critical thinkers; they engage critically with the world and with themselves; they not only reflect critically on…

This paper seeks evidence of a culture gulf, first voiced by C.P. Snow in 1959, between science and humanities as reflected in the understanding which undergraduate science and humanities majors have of the other field. The 1995 study evaluated responses of students at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) and California's Humboldt State…

With the support of instructors and administrators in selected Illinois community colleges, this teaching handbook was developed to help part-time instructors increase their understanding of contemporary learning and teaching theories and to apply them in their classrooms. The handbook is organized in 10 chapters that cover the following topics:…