Explains how peer writing tutors not only help their fellow students, but can also learn a great deal themselves about grammar and mechanics, information processing, marking papers, audience awareness, and problem-solving strategies. (ARH)

Asserts that textbook advice regarding buffers and negative messages is simplistic and frequently wrong, and analyses 22 job-refusal letters and their effectiveness. Claims that recent research on cognitive complexity and social perspective-taking suggests the need for more sophisticated audience analysis protocols for dealing with the negative…

The authors discuss activities that help mentally handicapped adults emphasize thinking processes: observation questions, impact chart, solving a puzzling situation, and use of examples/nonexamples. The authors stress use of simple concepts, concrete objects, and realistic situations in developing intellectual skills. (CT)

This study is to explore the potential of Fauconnier's mental space theory in understanding the teaching and learning processes of mathematics. Notions from cognitive linguistics have been introduced to research in mathematics education recently, but there have been little studies about what potential the framework of mental space has in…

Psychological research, it is suggested, has made significant contributions to Canadian higher education. Cognition and learning, the measurement of student abilities, instruction, the evaluation of teaching, student characteristics, the organization and operation of the university, and program evaluation are examined. (Author/MLW)

This study reports on the development and psychometric properties of a new 87-item Mathematics Information Processing Scale that explores learning strategies, metacognitive problem-solving skills, and attentional deployment. Results with 340 college students support the use of the instrument, for which factor analysis identified five theoretically…

This review of 20 studies examines 3 predictions concerning the effects of conceptual models on students' understanding of scientific prose: (1) that models improve recall of conceptual information; (2) that they decrease verbatim retention; and (3) that they increase creative solutions on transfer problems. (SLD)

Teachers' actions are thought to produce certain types of student thinking. To devise effective inservice programs, educators must understand four learning principles and five thinking dimensions enabling students to develop positive learning attitudes and acquire, integrate, and extend their knowledge. A new "curriculum" of preservice…

Describes how a mathematics teacher's knowledge level can be supported or justified by a criterion different from test scores of teacher's students, namely the ability of the teacher to justify teaching practices by appealing to concurrent learning method. Two examples are provided that formalize theoretical justifications as practical arguments…

Addresses Clark's position that media do not influence learning (EJ 294 173). The need to consider the capabilities of media as they interact with the cognitive and social processes by which knowledge is constructed is posited. This approach is examined within the context of two major media-based projects. Implications for theory, research, and…

Discusses contemporary theory and research related to volition in education, and proposes agenda items for continued research into the construct of volition. The relationships among volition, self-regulation, and motivation are explored. A provisional model of volition in education is presented, and some assessment strategies are discussed. (SLD)

The five chapters and epilogue of this special issue present theoretical and empirical contributions on the relevance of attachment theory to cognitive development and education. A literature review is followed by explorations of attachment theory and emotions, cognitive development, literacy, and the communication effectiveness of the mother.…

Two major currents of reflection on education exist in the Francophone world. The first, "didactique"--didactics--relates to teacher planning, working chiefly from considerations about the pupil's cognitive characteristics. The second, "pedagogie"--pedagogy--relates to the features of pedagogical reflection-in-action. The…

The 11 chapters of this theme issue explore important issues that relate cognitive style to educational concerns. They link cognitive style with reading comprehension, parental teaching, family qualities, teaching, distance learning, strategic learning, socialization, and athletic performance. (SLD)

This article provides an overview of definitions and measures related to school engagement. The intent herein, is to explore the construct and measurement of school engagement and related terms and provide a summary of previous literature, in an effort to offer a foundation to advance related scholarship and practice. Previous articles exploring…