Presents abstracts of 36 special interest group (SIG) sessions. Highlights include the Chemistry Online Retrieval Experiment; organizing and retrieving images; intelligent information retrieval using natural language processing; interdisciplinarity; libraries as publishers; indexing hypermedia; cognitive aspects of classification; computer-aided…

Contends that a challenge of teaching humanistic geography is to encourage students' responses to landscapes in ways that may be different from their previous experience. Argues that conventional practices may not be appropriate instructional procedure in humanistic geography and describes an alternative approach. (CFR)

Maintains that Canadian scholar, Kieran Egan, developed a schema of childhood development that presents a bold, new approach to the stages of growth, both affectively and cognitively. Describes Egan's views and how the school curriculum must be adapted to correspond more closely to these views. (CFR)

Contends that the conflict between the traditional, textbook-dominated establishment and the supporters of the whole-language movement is nothing less than a revolution. Describes tenets of the whole-language approach as they apply to the overarching goals of the social studies curriculum. (CFR)

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)

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…

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;…

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…

There is much information from educational psychology studies on how people learn. The thesis of this paper is that we should use this information to guide the ways in which we teach rather than blindly using our traditional methods. In this context, problem-based learning (PBL), as a method of teaching widely used in medical schools but…

The first-year experiences of minority-group college students are often highly stressful and may influence decisions about remaining in college. M. R. Louis' model of meaning and sense-making provides a framework for examining the experiences of American Indian college freshmen and for evaluating interventions aimed at lowering student attrition…