The power of civic education to elicit positive student outcomes has been empirically documented. However, the field is only now beginning to understand the causal processes that bring about these positive changes in young people. "The Civic Mission of Schools" report commissioned by the Carnegie Corporation of New York and CIRCLE (2003) lays out…

The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between approaches to learning and locus of control of students from the USA, Japan, and Taiwan. The results show that students from the USA utilized more rote memory learning compared to students from Japan and Taiwan, while students from Japan were more likely to be "Achieving"…

The federal journey into public education has followed a long and winding road. Most educators know that the federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act is simply the latest version of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), which dates all the way back to 1965. In the years since its initial passage, the ESEA road has taken a number of…

The author argues that efficient learning of mathematics requires both understanding and rote learning. (SD)

Two experiments investigated the effects of four teaching treatments on sixth graders' learning of an ecology curriculum. Recitation was more significant in improving learning than the other treatments--probing or followup questioning; redirection of a question to another student; and higher cognitive questioning. (Author/CP)

Description of a study testing for retention of visual material identified as being familiar or unfamiliar to the subjects. (HB)

Six elementary-age children with learning disabilities were found to learn subtraction facts more rapidly when a rule teaching and correction strategy was employed, compared to learning facts by rote. A study of generalization of rule usage found that the two children studied did generalize the strategy to an additional problem. (Author/JDD)

Argues that more attention should be given to teaching students how to learn the rudiments of specific metabolic pathways. This approach describes a unique way of learning the glycolytic pathway in stepwise fashion. The pedagogy involves clear rote components that are connected to a set of generalizations that develop and enhance important…

The use of bilingual graphic organizers (bilingual knowledge maps [BiK maps]) as a presentation format was investigated for the acquisition of foreign language vocabulary. Participants were assigned to 1 of 4 conditions for the task of studying 32 German-English word pairs. Participants in each condition were trained on either lists or BiK maps…

Often, bright young people languish in a setting where repetition and rote learning lull them into passivity. When students are not challenged, they fail to understand that true achievement comes with effort. Because of bureaucratic pressure, limited funding, and large class sizes, teachers often find themselves "teaching to the middle" or…

This paper describes an experimental course in which the author taught students to improve their learning skills. It is a first step toward constructing a systematic body of knowledge about learning strategies. The course covered four topics, chosen because they were complex enough to require several weeks to make progress, but simple enough that…

Instances where drilling is useful for advanced language are discussed. Several types of drills are recommended, with the philosophy that advanced level drills should have a lighter style and be regarded as a useful, occasional means of practicing individual new items. (CHK)

Reports a study which examined the effects of audio and visual approaches to rhythm reading and short-term retention in second and sixth grade students. Sixth graders learned the patterns twice as fast as younger children. Simultaneous use of both auditory and visual channels facilitates learning. (Author/AEM)

Four experiments evaluated flash card use for teaching number facts to elementary-school students with learning difficulties. Effective treatments involved: re-presenting a missed problem after the next item; using error-contingent reprimands; seating the tutor and student knee-to-knee, rather than with a desk between them; and a combination of…