This collection of conference papers and abstracts includes: "Integrating Two Languages, Theories of Minds, and Executive Functions" (Agnes Melinda Kovacs and Erno Teglas); "Unconventional Thinking for Speaking: The Blends of George W. Bush" (Alan Cienki); "Blends of Alternations in the Grammar of Brazilian Vernacular…

The progression of qualified surgical nurses toward capable proficiency was examined in an ethnographic study during which 25 nurses, including 4 who transferred to other wards, were observed to determine whether social mediation affects the process of proficiency development. The nurses were observed for 18 months. Data were also gathered through…

This book describes the processing styles inherent in dyslexia and dysgraphia for teacher identification of such students and provides strategies and compensations for students with these disabilities. Strategies for dyslexia and dysgraphia are combined in this book because both of these processing differences are language-based and represent a…

These proceedings contain reviewed and edited papers from the 23rd annual meeting of the Western Australian Science Education Association (WASEA). Papers include: (1) Using Quantitative and Qualitative Approaches to Validate a Questionnaire to Describe Science Teacher Behavior in Taiwan and Australia (Darrell Fisher, David Henderson, and…

The mission of teachers as creative facilitators is not to assign a grade; the mission is to educate students to think, to learn, and to make new connections that they never before thought possible. A teacher's guidance, constructive feedback, and facilitated instruction should pave the way for students to meaningfully bridge prior knowledge with…

The purpose of this essay is to explore both what is known and what needs to be learned about the information value of performance items "when they are used in large scale assessments." Within the context of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), there is substantial motivation for answering these questions. Over the…

Presents a dialog between an educational psychologist and a middle school social studies teacher concerning the integration of the arts into social studies curriculum. Both agree that the use of the arts can simultaneously enhance the presentation of content while providing multiple paths to learning. (MJP)

Presents an interesting example of Russian pedagogical thought. Personality-oriented instruction generally refers to cognitive style. Attempts a broad classification of objectives and procedures for this type of instruction. Includes many references and terminology from Russian pedagogy (for example, psychodidactics, social-pedagogical model,…

Examined developmental differences in evidence evaluation skills among school children, non-college educated adults, and college students, utilizing plant growth variables. Found that children were more strongly influenced by prior beliefs and missing data than were the two adult groups. Age and educational differences were found in the…

Surveys 78 British secondary school students and correlates their responses regarding preferences in learning styles to information previously determined by the computer-presented Cognitive Styles Analysis. Examines the students' preferences for group, pair, or individual work, as well as, open and closed tasks. (MJP)

Discussion of computer-assisted instruction and cognitive style focuses on a study of college students that investigated the relationship of student success in algebra and field independence-dependence. Topics discussed include the effectiveness of computers as instructional tools; treatments for experimental and control groups; courseware; and…

Cognitive differences between 987 LD children and 178 EH children in public schools on a psychoeducational assessment battery were studied, and differences in factor structure were investigated. Caution is suggested in interpreting the results of multivariate statistical analyses, which indicated heterogeneity in the matrices of LD and EH…

The importance of cognitive internal state words in skilled reading comprehension was studied with 31 5th graders, 32 7th graders, and 10th graders. Positive correlations with cognitive word knowledge were significantly higher for verbal than quantitative achievement percentiles. The order of cognitive word acquisition depends on complex factors.…

Examines six elementary social studies textbook series for the absence or presence of multicultural perspectives. Identifies Houghton Mifflin and Macmillan as opposite ends of the spectrum. Houghton Mifflin displayed a global-humanistic perspective while Macmillan favored a nationalistic, exclusionary approach. Includes examples from both. (MJP)

Provides evidence that sixth-grade students are capable of considerable art historical understanding. Suggests that second-grade students are able to incorporate knowledge of individual artists, and some limited historical perspective, in their consideration of artworks. Includes assessment instrument and statistical tables. (MJP)