Reports on a study of 77 journal articles to determine whether common characteristics of effective elementary social studies instruction could be discerned. Concludes that many of these instructional methods are not supported by research on effective instruction. (CFR)

System-initiated adaptive advice and learner-requested nonadaptive background information were investigated in computer simulation game experiments with 64 seventh graders, 38 college students, and 80 seventh and eighth graders in Germany. Results are discussed in terms of theories of problem solving, intelligence, memory, and information…

Research and development activities of the last decade in the areas of assessment and effective instructional programs in mathematics for students with disabilities are reviewed. Encouraged by federal funding, a pervasive theme has been the use of an information processing framework. Automaticity, conceptual development, and cognitive modeling…

Presents a concise introduction and overview of "constructivism." Constructivists assert that knowledge is constructed by individuals; constructivists advocate classroom procedures that encourage students to identify the subjectivity and biases of existing interpretations and to arrive at their own conclusions. Examines four hypothetical teacher…

Links between content knowledge in the mathematics domain and pedagogical reasoning were compared for three university mathematics professors, three mathematics-methods professors, three high school teachers, three middle school teachers, and three elementary school teachers. In general, teachers with the most training and experience produced…

Investigates the effect of oral and electronic media on interaction patterns by learners of Japanese as a second language. The framework for the analysis of learner is speech act theory, which provides a richly developed set of descriptive categories by which to examine interactional processes. (Author/JL)

Describes a cognitive intervention that offered novice student teachers access to the thinking underlying an expert teacher's practice, examining the implementation and impact of the cognitive intervention, which involved two 2-hour workshops held between participants' first and second practicum experiences. Workshop transcripts indicated that…

Discussion of navigation through virtual information environments focuses on the need for robust user models that take into account individual differences. Considers Pask's information processing styles and strategies; deep (transformational) and surface (reproductive) learning; field dependence/independence; divergent/convergent thinking;…

A study of senior education majors in the United Kingdom investigated the realism of student expectations of a required independent research project. Student self-assessments and teacher assessments showed little correlation, and students' evaluation criteria emphasized lower-order skills (style and presentation) and ignored higher-order processes…

Utilizes the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) to delineate four basic personality types and their corresponding learning styles. Compares student's learning style with professor's teaching style. Suggests options for improving instruction by offering teaching and grading strategies that better accommodate student personality types and learning…

Summarizes interviews with British West Indies children concerning the production of art and the role of the artist. Demonstrates that children's perceptions undergo a shift from naive realism (pretty things make pretty pictures) to a more interpretive stance (the artist's efforts define the final product). (MJP)

Presents the results of an experiment that evaluated the efficiency of analogy in the conceptual restructuring of a science topic. The experiment involved a fifth-grade class studying water and heat flow. Discovered that analogy can act as an effective trigger for restructuring knowledge. (MJP)

Utilizes the Gregoric Style Delineator (GSD) and other questionnaire instruments to determine the effects of learning styles on the effectiveness of music instruction via interactive audio CD-ROM. Results showed little statistical difference between learning styles. Includes concise descriptions of Gregoric and others' research into learning…

Examined impulsive suicide attempts within a population-based, case-control study of nearly lethal suicide attempts among adolescents and young adults. Impulsive attempts were more likely among those who had been in a physical fight and less likely among those who were depressed. Findings suggest inadequate control of aggressive impulses as a…

The activity uses drawings typically found in textbooks, engaging students in physical and mental activities such as drawing, painting and figure completion--as well as finding missing words and answering guiding questions. The activity deals with three topics: the structure of DNA, DNA replication and protein synthesis. In this study we…