Includes two articles. Topics include skills needed to teach young people how to build their own good ideas instead of cutting and pasting the ideas of others; and the trend toward false dichotomies and the dangers created when separating complex issues into two contrasting sides or choices. (LRW)

Presents a set of problems for which there is a tendency for students to ignore part of the given information in the problem and substitute some extraneous assumptions. Discusses typical student reactions. (Author/ASK)

The mnemonic device can be a terrific tool to help students memorize those things that are so easy to forget. A mnemonic device is a trick or strategy to help remember something. Adults use them every day. Frequiently, they may use a rhyme to help them remember how many days are in each month and they often use associations or alliterations to…

This article analyses data from over 1000 student questionnaires dealing with how students currently use the web to support their learning. It discusses student understanding, needs, and expectations of the web and the overwhelming perception that the web now forms an integral part of their study and research practices. However, these practices…

This study investigated the extent to which a course, designed using peer and action learning principles to function as an 'on campus practicum', can develop the professional capabilities of students. As part of their formal coursework, third year behavioural science students, functioning as 'student consultants', entered into a…

Engle's (this issue) analysis of framing students' contributions in learning interactions to construct generality and Marton's (this issue) discussion of learning to discern differences make valuable contributions to the ongoing scientific effort to understand transfer. This commentary characterizes these articles as contributing to 2 valuable…

Self-directed learning enables students to guide themselves and monitor their own progress towards specific goals. The positive approach towards self-management in developing alternative strategies to achieve the goals is discussed.

This article discusses two projects that were aimed at enhancing the opportunities for professional development of the participants through collaboration between classroom teachers and teacher educators. The two projects, the Australian Project for Enhancing Effective Learning (PEEL) and the Canadian Learning Strategies Group (LSG), focused on the…

This article presents a case study indicating that "Herpes simplex" virus (HSV) encephalitis may cause permanent learning disabilities due to damage to the temporal lobes as it discusses the results of a case study extending over 10 years to determine the long-term effects on both the anatomy of the brain and the intellectual functioning of the…

This article takes a different approach to presenting the importance and applications of mental training. Applying mental-skills training to enhance learning and performance requires athletes and students to improve their awareness of what they do to help themselves (mentally, emotionally, physically, and behaviorally), as well as what they do to…

Learning strategies have received a lot of attention in recent years. Many books have been written for both teachers and students, outlining strategies of and for the successful language learner. The research in this area confirms that the conscious use of learning strategies enhances language achievement and proficiency. A well-developed strategy…

Different theories try to explain why some students are more successful than the others. Phenomenologists (Mc Combs, 1989) study self concepts of the students and find such students prone to achieve more. Attributional Theorists (Dweck, 1986; Weiner, 2005) focus on personal outcome such as effort or ability. Metacognitive theorists (Pressley,…

Project-Based Learning (PBL) connects standards-based content to real-world scenarios through the use of projects to improve student achievement. By engaging students in authentic problems that do not have a predetermined solution, students learn both subject matter and critical 21st-century skills. This "Focus On" addresses what…

A journal club is defined as a group of individuals who meet regularly to discuss current trends in literature and have been advocated to bridge the gap of research and practice. With the popularity of the Internet, there are a variety of tools available for online learning through journal clubs including asynchronous discussions, which the…

The purpose of this study is to investigate the consistency of students' behavior regarding their pace of actions over sessions within an online course. Pace in a session is defined as the number of logged actions divided by session length (in minutes). Log files of 6,112 students were collected, and datasets were constructed for examining pace…