Seen in its strictest sense, mastery learning is a recent phenomenon. Viewed in terms of its constituent elements, however, it has roots deep in the Western tradition of education. Elements of mastery learning theory can be found in the work of the Sophists; early Jesuit educators; John Amos Comenius, a Moravian pastor; John Locke; Johann Heinrich…

Summarizes television research findings and theories, discusses research problems, categorizes instructional television variables, defines and describes "task relatedness," and presents the results of a survey of instructional media professionals concerning their opinions on instructional television use and their reactions to the concept of task…

A form is presented for language teacher self-evaluation concerning attitudes and knowledge about learning theories, general linguistics, sociolinguistics, pragmatics, discourse analysis, teaching methodology, the communicative approach, class activities, class management, instructional support, and evaluation. (MSE)

This report presents a picture of the emerging mentor role, its concomitant satisfactions, and problem areas, based on interviews with and observations of 46 full-time mentors at Empire State College (Saratoga Springs, New York); completion of the Mentor Questionnaire by 38 mentors; and interviews with deans, associate deans, and support staff at…

This paper recounts the ideas of the American cognitive-developmental psychologist James Mark Baldwin (1861-1934) on aesthetic experience: his conceptualization of aesthetic experience as immediate, semblant, personalized, and idealized; and his three-stage theory of aesthetic development. (SJL)

Defines knowledge management and corporate portals and provides a model that can be applied to assessing return on investment (ROI) for a knowledge management solution. Highlights include leveraging knowledge in an organization; assessing the value of human capital; and the Intellectual Capital Performance Measurement Model. (LRW)

A study evaluated shared learning in educational programs preparing students for employment as nurses, midwives, and health visitor teachers in the United Kingdom. Data were collected from the following: descriptive survey of 17 centers preparing teachers in nursing/midwifery/health visiting (response rate, 12 centers); interviews with course…

This study explores the concept of "transactional distance", a term coined by Moore (1993), which relates to the distance that exists in all learning relationships and can be more evident and potentially problematic in online learning environments. Reducing this psychologically perceived distance to help learners develop social presence…

Vygotsky (1978) presented ideas influential to the "constructivist" approach to education. This approach included the "zone of proximal development," and defined what is essential for student's development of a higher cognitive ability in order to become self-motivated learners. His theory also directly relates to the research regarding the…

Describes an analysis of test items used to measure the science process skills of 11-year-olds in Great Britain. Concludes that the level of cognitive demand was a reliable predictor of the difficulty of an item. (TW)

This study queried master's level teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (MA TESOL) from Taiwan and Thailand, all of whom received their degrees in the United States, returned home to teach English as a Foreign Language (EFL), then returned to the United States to pursue doctoral degrees. The study examined the extent to which MA TESOL…

This study surveyed public school teachers to investigate their theoretical orientations toward teaching thinking and toward two views about the nature of thinking (content-oriented and skills-oriented). Results showed that less than one-fourth presented a clear content or skill orientation. Most had mixed views about the two theories. (SM)

Item-level statistics from ability and achievement tests have been underutilized as sources of data for building models of cognitive development. How item data can be used to build a cognitive-developmental map of proportional reasoning is demonstrated. The product of the analysis is a cognitive hierarchy with levels corresponding to categories of…

This paper compares the Hersey-Natemeyer "Power Perception Profile" with the "Richardson Power Profile (RPP)," both of which are measures of a leader's reliance on power bases to affect followers within organizations. Two previously conducted factor analyses of the normative measure--the RPP--indicate that there are fewer than…

Results obtained when a procedure for assessing the questions on uniersity mathematics examinations to see what skills were needed for their solution are given for a sample of 1400 questions set during 1976 in 10 British universities. The method is a way of focusing rational argument. (MNS)