The authors conducted 3 experiments addressing the issue of how observations and multiple sources of prior knowledge are put together in category learning. In Experiments 1 and 2, learning was faster for critical features, which were predictable on the basis of prior knowledge, than for filler features, and this advantage increased as more…

The ultimate goal of high school mathematics teachers is to create a meaningful learning environment that is conducive to teaching students the necessary concepts for academic achievement. Unfortunately, evidence suggests that many secondary educators still teach in a rote lecture style that focuses on the teacher providing information to passive,…

This action research project was designed to maximize learning for all students by addressing different learning styles and implementing various strategies. The students in the targeted school exhibited difficulty in experiencing academic success while exposed to conventional teaching strategies. The two target schools consisted of an intermediate…

Psychological research indicates that rote learning involves a good deal of what is commonly called conceptualizing, and conceptual learning demands a large amount of what is often considered rote repetition. (HMD)

THIS STUDY SOUGHT TO DETERMINE WHETHER SERIAL LEARNING EFFICIENCY DEPENDS ON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PART SIZE AND THE EMPIRICALLY DETERMINED MEMORY SPAN OF THE LEARNERS. ISSUES EXPLORED WERE THE TRADE-OFF BETWEEN REHEARSABILITY AND EFFORT IN OPTIMIZING THIS RELATIONSHIP, AND FEASIBILITY OF A FLEXIBLE PART SIZE. A MEASURE OF MEMORY SPAN WAS…

Study found that students who practiced writing spelling words to the point of fatigue performed significantly more poorly on a post-test than students who had not practiced at all. (RT)

Commends the practice of learning poetry by heart. (HOD)

Presents an experiment for teachers to determine whether rote or reason has greater influence upon the way students think about computation. Provides some observations and concerns, and discusses needed changes in thinking and practice for teaching mathematics. (ASK)

This study focuses on the long-term retention of basic mathematical techniques in a first-year calculus course, involving a sample group of engineering students at the University of Pretoria. The study investigates which and how much of the basic mathematical knowledge and rote skills acquired in the first year of study is retained after a further…

This paper discusses the implementation of a new e-learning environment that supports non-rote learning of exploratory and inductive statistics within the pedagogical paradigm of social constructivism. The e-learning system is based on a new computational framework that allows us to create an electronic research environment where students are…

In this article we recount our experiences of teaching photosynthesis in an integrated way to secondary school students and teachers, science undergraduates and postgraduates. Conceptual questions were posed to investigate learners' fundamental understanding of simple light-dependent and light-independent processes taught to most students at…

This experiment investigated the assumption that children's learning and retention of prose material can be differentially affected by varying discrepancy from expectation (as established by an advance organizer). It was hypothesized that a passage which differed significantly from expectation would produce heightened arousal, which should in turn…

Results indicate specific and positive effects of Quranic schooling on serial memory but not on other memory or cognitive tasks. These findings replicate earlier reports that Quranic schooling affects specific (and not general) memory skills. (PCB)

A summary of Soviet research in sleep-teaching and implications for the future. (RY)