This manual is designed to be used as a staff development instrument for educators to help them discover their personal cognitive and behavioral style and to aid them in using this understanding to become more effective teachers and administrators. Four personal styles are identified: (1) autonomy: solving problems, making decisions, getting…

The Learning in Science Project (Primary--LISP(P)--designed to investigate the teaching and learning of science in New Zealand primary schools, arises from the work of the original Learning in Science Project (LISP). This paper is an attempt to clarify the direction of LISP(P) as it moves toward the central phase of the research. The ideas…

The stand taken in the Learning in Science Project (Primary)--LISP(P)--is that primary school science should be centrally concerned with children's present interaction with their world rather than their future science education. Further, it has been decided that one of the LISP(P) foci should be on questions that children ask and how these…

One area explored in the Learning in Science Project (Primary--LISP(P)--was children's questions about and explanations of phenomena. Data were obtained from work with classes of children, interviews with children, informal discussions with teachers, and observations of two teachers using an alternative teaching model (outlined in an appendix)…

The Learning in Science Project (Primary)--LISP(P)--was designed to investigate the teaching and learning of science in the primary school. This paper summarizes the work undertaken and the findings obtained during the first 9 months of the project. During the first 6 months, an exploratory phase, similar to the original Learning in Science…

This paper, designed to be used in conjunction with a video-tape developed by the Learning in Science Project (Primary)--LISP(P)--shows excerpts from some of the interview schedules used to examine children's ideas about floating and sinking. These interviews involved the use of "interview-about-instances" (IAI) cards (included in an…

This study investigated the meanings and ideas held and questions asked by children (ages 7-14) about floating and sinking (in water). Data were collected from interviews using "interview-about-instances" (IAI) cards (included in an appendix) and 10 objects which either floated or sank. Additional data were collected from classroom…

The Learning in Science Project (Primary)--LISP(P)--investigated the ideas and interests children have about flowering plants (in particular whether these plants have a life cycle). Data were obtained from: individual interviews with children, ages 7- to 14-year-old (10 students for each age level), using the "interview-about-instances"…

Prepared as part of a series to help college students improve their use of study time and learning materials, this booklet presents a seven-step method for improving reading skills. Each section of the booklet discusses a separate step in the method--(1) evaluating reading habits, (2) providing the right atmosphere for reading, (3) using the eyes…

A study was conducted: (1) to determine the proportion of average 6th-grade students who, when given prompts, could produce an incipient form of dialectical reasoning; and (2) to test a unit of instruction developed to teach dialectical reasoning as an appropriate learning strategy for exploring public controversies. It was hypothesized that if…

This book focuses on successful classroom practices which used oral communication to develop student confidence in a variety of speaking situations and to expand student understanding of literature through both analysis and performance. The book contains the following essays, listed here with their authors: (1) "Follow the Bouncing Ball"…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of a laboratory-centered inquiry program on laboratory skills, science process skills, and knowledge/understanding. The inquiry approach used in the Foundational Approaches in Science Teaching (FAST) program and a traditional science textbook approach were compared in terms of the three…

This paper presents some observations on cooperative learning gathered from research in social and educational literature. Issues of educational reform are also addressed within the context of minority academic achievement. Studies comparing cooperation or greater competition in the classroom appear to be in agreement that cooperative modes of…

Structures that schools can change to produce more positive effects on student learning and development are referred to in this report as TARGET (Tasks, Rewards, Grouping, Evaluation, and Time) structures. The first of two chapters, "Effective Schools or Effective Students: Dealing with Diversity", stresses the need for including in the current…

Research has shown that students and teachers can benefit from structured in-school helping relationships in which peers assume formal roles as tutors. For the student in need of academic help, peer tutoring programs provide an opportunity to learn in a more nonthreatening environment than the classroom. Immediate feedback and clarification of…