The brain works by making patterns, and this process can be visualized through a medium called visual tools. The book discusses three types of visual tools: brainstorming webs, task-specific organizers, and thinking-process maps. Sample lessons, assessments, and descriptions of visual tools in action are included. Emphasis is placed on the…

This paper begins by pointing out that approximately 15-20% of college students suffer from a fear of public speaking, and that a 1993 study of 369 students at Northern Kentucky University revealed high levels of speech apprehension (SA) at the beginning of the semester in the introductory speech course. The paper reports that although…

The paper argues that a relationship between visualization and mathematical problem solving ability exists. Research suggests that visual imagery leads to increased understanding of mathematical concepts at both the primary and secondary levels. Mathematical potential is not necessarily "born." Potential can be created in the least likely students…

This study investigates the combined effect of student characteristics and instructional method on at-risk college students' academic performance. It examines the relationship of student characteristics and instructional methods to the performance variables of students' grades in a mandatory reading/study course for reading-deficient students;…

Identifying the specific self-regulated learning strategies students use as they move toward higher academic achievement has important educational implications. This may be particularly true for rural students, who often have fewer available resources than their suburban peers. In this study, 75 eleventh- and twelfth-graders in 12 rural high…

The purpose of this paper is to investigate how explanation is interactively constituted in two mathematics instructional sequences during one year-long teaching experiment in a second grade classroom. The position taken is that classroom norms for what constitutes an acceptable explanation are a joint construction between teacher and students.…

This packet contains a teacher's guide and student guide for a videotape and audiotape that introduce learning styles concepts for adult learners and provide them with tools to begin to recognize their own behavior and to make the most of their personal style strengths. The teacher's guide provides background information on learning styles and the…

This paper traces the history of 11 prominent learning style theorists from the 1970s to the present. Several theorists focused on the student's cognitive processing style. Manuel Ramirez attributed Mexican-American students' tendency toward field sensitivity to their socialization. Charles Letteri classified learners as analytic, global, or…

This paper reports on a study of seventh grade students (N=4) who attend a rural K-12 school. Students participated in a 5-week teaching experiment designed to build on their existing knowledge of the unit concept and extend it to the rational number operations of multiplication and division. Data collected comes in the form of videotapes,…

Teaching reasoning and judgment to children under the auspices of philosophy is an idea that has emerged recently in the modern era. It is theorized that, through practice in logic and ethics, children will begin to apply reasoning skills to their own life situations, think for themselves, and become better critical thinkers, all in a context that…

Czech students (n=160) of German as a foreign language were asked to fill out a questionnaire about their learning strategies. The purposes of this questionnaire were to find out: (1) to what extent students formed their own learning strategies, and if they were influenced by teachers; and (2) the changes in students' learning strategies caused by…

The usefulness of the Cognitive Engagement in Cooperative Learning (CECL) model for evaluating the learning outcomes associated with various cooperative learning activities is explored. The instructions that a set of learners is given, however broad or specific, is called a script. These scripts are associated with different learning outcomes…

Designed for teachers of kindergarten through grade 6, this book contains practical and innovative ideas on fostering literacy generated from discussions with teachers from the United States and Canada, visits to their classrooms, and observations of their interactions with students. The book addresses all levels of learner-centered literacy…

A learning circle is an informal, co-operative way of learning that is based on natural patterns of human interaction. Learning circles use learning materials to catalyze discussion. This book was designed under the assumption that these materials will most often be television programs with supporting print material. The first section, "What…

This document contains papers and transcripts from a university faculty colloquium which shared views about teaching methods and information on successful approaches. Following a copy of the colloquium announcement and a brief introduction, the main section presents transcripts of the presentations. The first discusses the structure and role of…