K. Denise Muth

Analogical Reasoning and Problem Solving in Science Textbooks

People’s frequent use of analogies to explain everyday phenomena underscores their potential value as instructional tools. Such expressions as “Let me give you an analogy ...,” “It’s just like ...,” “It’s the same as ...,” “It’s no different than ...,” “Think of it this way ...,” are commonplace in casual conversation.

Effects of text organization on memory: Test of a cognitive effort hypothesis with limited exposure time

Cirilo and Foss (1980) found that subjects spent more time reading important information than unimportant information in 12 stories. Important information was also free recalled better, reconfirming the ‘levels effect’. The reading time differences are consistent with a processing time hypothesis for the levels effect. This paper reports three experiments that support an alternative hypothesis based on cognitive effort. In Experiment 1, Cirilo and Fosss reading time findings were replicated. Then the subject‐controlled reading times observed in Experiment 1 were used in Experiments 2 and 3 to limit exposure times for important information to values less than those that had been self‐selected by the average subject. Experiment 2 showed that the levels effect in free recall was still present with exposure times limited. In Experiment 3, a secondary task technique was used to measure cognitive effort during the processing of important and unimportant information. Results showed that responses to secondary t...

TEXT‐LEARNING CAPABILITIES OF OLDER ADULTS

Many researchers have found that older adults are unable to recall meaningful verbal information (i.e., words, sentences, and instructional text) as well as young adults. Available evidence suggests that the limited recall of older adults may in part result from the inefficient implementation of attentional and organizational processes. Educational gerontol‐ogists must investigate procedures that can increase the efficiency of older adults’ text‐learning skills. It is important that these empirical efforts be guided by models of memory (e.g., Craiks levels‐of‐processing approach) that are applicable to a population of elderly learners. These models can be used to identify text‐learning strategies that are appropriate for older adults. In general, these strategies should stimulate the construction of deep, elaborative memory traces. In particular, they should help older adults to do the following: (1) focus attention on key ideas, (2) organize information for storage and retrieval, and (3) integrate new i...

Reading in Mathematics: Middle School Mathematics Teachers' Beliefs and Practices.

Abstract The purpose of this descriptive study was to investigate mathematics teachers’ beliefs about the role reading plays in mathematics learning and about their role in helping students deal with the reading of mathematics. Ninety‐nine middle grades mathematics teachers responded to the Mathematics and Reading Questionnaire designed to address these issues. Results indicated that the mathematics teachers who participated in the study were generally undecided in their beliefs about the role reading plays in mathematics learning and about the role they should play in helping students deal with the reading of mathematics. Their undeddedness is consistent with the fact that the teachers tended not to view their reading in the content area courses as being beneficial to mathematics teachers.

Using Cooperative Learning To Improve Reading and Writing in Mathematical Problem Solving.

This article on using cooperative learning in mathematics is divided into four sections. Section 1 deals with the importance of problem solving and how cooperative learning can play an important role in helping students solve problems. Section 2 emphasizes the importance of communicating mathematical concepts through reading, writing, and discussing. Section 3 gives specific suggestions for implementing cooperative learning in the classroom. Finally, Section 4 presents a classroom example of students working together using reading and writing to solve mathematical word problems.

Instructional Objectives in Text: Managing the Reader's Attention

It is well established that the provision of instructional objectives before reading a text increases the learning of objective-relevant material in the text. The purpose of the present study was to identify some of the mechanisms by which objectives affect learning. College students studied text under three conditions: with specific objectives, with a general objective, and with no objectives. The objective-relevant material was located either high or low in the content structure of the text. The dependent measures were secondary task reaction time—a measure of cognitive capacity use—reading time, and free recall for objective-relevant material. The results indicated that with specific objectives, the secondary-task reaction times while reading objective-relevant material were longer, reading times were longer, and recall was greater than with either a general objective or with no objectives. Reading times were significantly correlated with recall, but secondary task reaction times were not. In addition, more information was recalled when the objective-relevant material was located high in the text structure. The interpretation of these results is that, with specific objectives, students devote more cognitive capacity to objective-relevant material, spend more time reading it, and recall more of it than when they do not have specific objectives.

Case-based Teacher Preparation for Teaching Controversial Topics in Middle School

Many middle school teachers are not prepared to develop units and lesson plans on controversial topics. In addition, many are not prepared to respond effectively when controversial topics arise unexpectedly during routine lessons. This is a significant problem because controversial topics are arising with increasing frequency in middle school classrooms. Here are some of the many examples that made the headlines in recent years:

30 Years of Advocating for Young Adolescents: Perspectives on the Middle School Movement: Snapshots from the Past

As the middle school movement in the United States begins its fourth decade, this article presents snapshots from the past highlighting important ideas, people, and events from that movement. It begins with short biogra phies of those founding fathers of the middle school movement, followed by a brief history of the movement itself, and concludes with a time line of seminal writings. Conrad F. Toepfer, |r. (right) and Donald H. Eichhorn (left)