Human knowledge consists of schemata based on the specialized procedures used to interpret events in the environment. New schemata are created by modifying models of existing schemata, i.e., learning by analogy. This means that a new situation will be interpreted in accordance with the schema most similar to it in the learner's repertoire. If the…

Elaboration theory is a prescriptive model of instruction which focuses on how to structure and organize subject matter while attempting to be consistent with cognitive theories of human learning. In this system, instruction in the subject matter should proceed sequentially, from the general to the specific, with each part explained and related to…

The triarchic theory of intelligence (Sternberg et al.) includes three types of intellectual elements: metacomponents, performance components, and knowledge-acquisition components. Recent research on metacognition and giftedness and on availability and flexibility of cognitive style indicates that interaction among all these elements may provide a…

The multisource approach to learning, based on the approach of F. C. Bartlett (1932), is discussed as an introduction to five articles on the approach. The assumptions of simplification by isolation and by integration; and the emphases on the various processes, as opposed to structures, of learning are discussed. (TJH)

Explores and compares the assumptions and nature of four constructivist-related positions in mathematics education: information processing theory, trivial constructivism, radical constructivism, and social constructivism. (19 references) (Author/MKR)

A critical review of the epistemological foundations of free-choice learning (FCL) theory was undertaken to evaluate how this theory treats knowledge, whatever importance we might attach to it. It is argued here that free-choice learning has great promise yet would benefit from theoretical adjustments that modify Vygotsky's learning theory by…

The idea of general knowledge is often put forward as a desirable learning goal, in all sectors of education: in schools, universities and even in technical and further education, especially in a changing society. The promotion of such knowledge is usually in terms of its being different from and more desirable than other knowledge, such as…

This paper gives insights into the beliefs of 85 German first year chemistry student teachers about chemistry teaching and learning at the beginning of their teacher education. The study is based on student teachers' drawings of themselves in a typical classroom situation and four open questions. The approach evaluated: (I) Beliefs about Classroom…

Epistemological beliefs are subjective theories on the structure and acquisition of knowledge. Using data collected in the final year of high school (Time 1) and early in the college career (Time 2) as part of a large-scale longitudinal study, we examined the relationship of beliefs in the certainty of knowledge with school achievement and choice…

The practical epistemology used by students and the epistemological moves delivered by teachers in conversations with students are analyzed in order to understand how teaching activities interplay with the "how" and the "what" of students' learning. The purpose is to develop an approach for analyzing the process of privileging…

Using content and archival analysis as a mixed method research design, this study addresses the broad issue of self-regulation since this subject area first appeared in the developmental psychology journals, addressing the question of whether each historical period had its own particular perspective on self-regulation, or was there, in fact, a …

Jean Piaget is credited with such topics as the synthesis of philosophy and the life sciences through a description of progressive stage by stage development, and a genetic epistemology founded on the principle of knowledge through processes of cognitive assimilation and accommodation. In actuality, these themes were originally postulated by James…

Jean Piaget's theory of cognitive development and David Ausubel's assimilation theory of learning are explicated and selected research involving both theories is reviewed in this paper. The two theories are compared on selected dimensions to demonstrate that they are compatible and that, in conjunction with one another, they form a strong…

Argues that a weak form of schema theory (a schema being an abstract set of expectations) gives the best account of the knowledge most people have about ordinary matters. Emphasizes that a person's culture is a principal determiner of what is already known and what can come to be known. (KH)

The author asserts that personal construct theory is just one more way of looking at the world, rather than a means of understanding the world as it really exists. Other articles appearing in "Interchange on Educational Policy" (volume 13, number 4, 1982), concerning education and constructivist theory, are critiqued on those grounds.…