Case-based learning is one method that can be used to foster critical thinking and schema construction. Students need to be provided with problem solving lessons in meaningful learning contexts for critical thinking to take place. In order for schema construction to occur, a framework needs to be provided that helps readers to elaborate upon new…

This paper, a discussion of the use of written tests to assess second language proficiency and achievement, considers what constitutes a valid writing test task and addresses three questions: (1) To what extent is performance influenced by prior knowledge about the topic? (2) Does it make a difference how the writing task is specified on the test…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the extent to which problem analysis facilitated the subsequent processing of expository text, both for novices and a comparison group. A text on osmosis consisted of six-pages and was used as reading material. The ninth-grade students were considered novices because they were unfamiliar with the…

If students are able to relate what they learn in school to experiences they have outside the classroom, they will become better critical thinkers. This paper suggests a model for teachers to use in aiding such "transfer" of knowledge from the classroom to the student's past or future experiences. By maintaining a profile of the student's…

This study was designed to identify characteristics of college freshmen taking mathematics courses. Students enrolled in basic algebra courses at a regional campus of a large midwestern university participated in the study. Students were administered an instrument which included a "math autobiography," the Adult Mathematics Expectation Scale…

In response to recommendations by a National Institute of Education (NIE) planning group to the effect that NIE should support efforts to understand the cognitive processes involved in acquiring basic reading skills and in comprehending linguistic messages, this book summarizes what has been learned about reading comprehension in the decade since…

British students in four age groups--4 to 5, 7 to 8, 11 to 12, and 15 to 16 years old--were observed in their classrooms in order to explore the relationships among the learner, knowledge, and thinking, and the role that writing plays in what is learned. In the infant classroom, writing was quite visible in the form of labels, questions,…

This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The 21 titles deal with a variety of topics, including the following: (1) creativity as a mediating variable in inferential reading comprehension; (2) teacher questioning and student response interaction during portions of reading…

A study was conducted to determine whether students who mapped prior and post knowledge of a basal reading lesson would achieve higher scores on a comprehension test and write better summaries of those stories than would students who received traditional basal reading instruction. Subjects, 30 fifth grade students, participated in either a…

Using examples from children drawing in a year one classroom, this article examines firstly, how drawing operates as a unique mental tool, and secondly, the role of drawing in the construction and development of knowledge. Young children utilize prior knowledge and experience to negotiate and construct meaning through their interactions with…

As one of the technical reports resulting from a study of postsecondary alternatives in California, this report proposes that the state give serious consideration to the provision of a variety of noninstructional services to adults in the state, based only on people's interests and needs. These services include: diagnostic counseling; educational…

The University Without Walls program at Hofstra University was approved as an experimental unit within New College in 1973. The UWW program is competency-based, with students developing individual programs of study. Educational plans and prior learning from college and life experience are stated in learning contracts with short- and long-term…

The Swedish policy that work experience can be used as a substitute for formal academic entrance requirements for higher education is assessed. The social and economic background of introducing work experience in higher education policy is described, and the significance of work experience to enrollment patterns and for the form and content of…

Two studies were conducted to clarify the influence of experiences and aptitudes on male-female differences in formal thought. Participants were 788 seventh-, ninth-, and eleventh-graders in three school districts differing in location, socioeconomic composition, and course offerings. Formal thought was measured with tasks involving proportional…

Conference proceedings on evaluation of credentials and degree equivalences of foreign students are presented. The conference was designed to improve evaluations in Massachusetts and to encourage more cooperation and greater consistency. Contributions are as follows: a UNESCO approach by Sanford Jameson; the approach of the National Association of…