Handbook of Individual Differences, Learning, and Instruction


Book Description

Written for teachers, trainers, and instructional designers -- anyone who is responsible for designing or preparing instruction -- this book begins with one basic premise: individual differences mediate learning at all levels and in all situations. That is, some learners find it easier or more difficult to learn some skills or to learn from certain forms of instruction because they vary in terms of aptitude, cognitive styles, personality, or learning styles. This volume describes most of the major differences in a readable and accessible way and demonstrates how to design various forms of instruction and predict the ease with which learners will acquire different skills. Most books that discuss any learner differences focus on those that characterize special education populations, whereas this book focuses on normal learners. Designed as a handbook, this volume is structured to provide easy and consistent access to information and answers, and prescriptions and hypotheses. When definitive answers are not possible because there is no research documentation, the authors suggest theories designed to stimulate future research.




Handbook of Individual Differences in Cognition


Book Description

As cognitive models of behavior continue to evolve, the mechanics of cognitive exceptionality, with its range of individual variations in abilities and performance, remains a challenge to psychology. Reaching beyond the standard view of exceptional cognition equaling superior intelligence, the Handbook of Individual Differences in Cognition examines the latest findings from psychobiology, cognitive psychology, and neuroscience, for a comprehensive state-of-the-art volume. Breaking down cognition in terms of attentional mechanisms, working memory, and higher-order processing, contributors discuss general models of cognition and personality. Chapter authors build on this foundation as they revisit current theory in such areas as processing effort and general arousal and examine emerging methods in individual differences research, including new data on the role of brain plasticity in cognitive function. The possibility of a unified theory of individual differences in cognitive ability and the extent to which these variables may account for real-world competencies are emphasized, and commentary chapters offer suggestions for further research priorities. Coverage highlights include: The relationship between cognition and temperamental traits. The development of autobiographical memory. Anxiety and attentional control. The neurophysiology of gender differences in cognitive ability. Intelligence and cognitive control. Individual differences in dual task coordination. The effects of subclinical depression on attention, memory, and reasoning. Mood as a shaper of information. Researchers, clinicians, and graduate students in psychology and cognitive sciences, including clinical psychology and neuropsychology, personality and social psychology, neuroscience, and education, will find the Handbook of Individual Differences in Cognition an expert guide to the field as it currently stands and to its agenda for the future.




The Psychology of the Language Learner


Book Description

The scope of individual learner differences is broad, yet there is no current, comprehensive, and unified volume that provides an overview of the considerable amount of research conducted on various language learner differences, until now.




Style Differences in Cognition, Learning, and Management


Book Description

This book aims to mark fifteen years of contributions to the field of style research in cognition and learning presented at the annual conference of the European Learning Styles Information Network. The style field is a multidisciplinary, global community made up of researchers in several domains of knowledge including education, psychology, business, computer science, information systems, management, human resources and other related fields. The book will be relevant for readers who are interested in differences in thinking and learning, covering a wide range of style-related themes with appeal to readers seeking an international and interdisciplinary perspective. Interested practitioners will include professionals working in the areas of HR Management, Organizational Learning, Business Management and all phases of Education. The application of style differences, for example, impacts widely upon work and human performance in areas of policy-making, team-management and project development (sports, social agency, and medicine). New or alternative research paradigms facilitating revision and consensus in the field of style differences are presented. The aim of integrating research and practice is developed to achieve consensual theory for style differences in human performance. Style Differences in Performance is a timely and field-defining volume that will change the way academics and practitioners across international and disciplinary boundaries think and talk about the field of learning style and its implications for human achievement.




International Perspectives on Individual Differences


Book Description

The first volume in the series considers cognitive style, which may well prove to be the missing link in the study of individual differences. The purpose of the book is to reflect academic debate focusing on key models of style.







The Routledge International Handbook of Research on Teaching Thinking


Book Description

The Routledge International Handbook of Research on Teaching Thinking is a comprehensive guide to research on teaching thinking. Teaching thinking is key to growing a more successful economy, is needed for increased democratic engagement and is vital for the well-being of individuals faced with the complexity of a globalised world. However, there are questions about what we mean by ‘thinking’, how best to teach it and how best to assess it, and it is these questions that this handbook explores and addresses. Containing surveys and summaries of international, cutting-edge research on every aspect of teaching thinking in a range of contexts, the handbook is thorough in its delivery, examining many different approaches and methods to help readers understand what teaching thinking is and how we can best take this movement forward. Key topics include: • Theoretical perspectives on teaching thinking • Approaches for teaching thinking • Developing creative thinking • Developing critical thinking and metacognition • The assessment of thinking • Teaching thinking in the context of STEM • Collaborative thinking and new technology • Neuro-educational research on teaching thinking This book is an essential guide for policy-makers, teachers and researchers who are interested in teaching thinking




Psychology and Aging


Book Description

The prestigious group of scholars assembled for this thirty-ninth volume of the Nebraska Symposium on Motivation address important issues in "Psychology and Aging." In the first chapter, James E. Birren and Laurel M. Fisher consider slowness of behavior as a general condition often associated with advancing age and explore its implications of a wide range of hierarchical functions. In succeeding chapters Martha Storandt assesses memory-skills training for older adults, and Irene Mackintosh Hulicka offers, in a previously unpublished G. Stanley Hall lecture, cogent reasons for teaching about aging in psychology classes and procedures for doing so. Challenging the view that cognitive aging is identical with decline, Paul B. Baltes, Jacqui Smith, and Ursula Staudinger adopt the hypothesis of simultaneous growth and decline and relate it to wisdom. Trait psychology is discussed by Paul T. Costa, Jr., and Robert R. McCrae, who review the most recent advances and present new data from longitudinal studies. K. Warner Schaie and his colleagues describe problems and methods of studying natural cohorts within a longitudinal study and report the first data on adult parent-offspring similarity determined as a function of the age of the pair when studied. A commentary chapter by Ross A. Thompson concludes the volume.




Educational Psychology Australian Edition


Book Description

Learning and teaching is an integrated process, and theory and practice cannot be separated. As in the previous Australasian edition, Educational Psychology 3e continues to emphasise the educational implications and applications of child development, cognitive science, learning and teaching. Recurring themes throughout the text include ideas about education; social and socio-cultural aspects of education; schools, families and community; development, learning and curriculum; and effective teaching. Author Kay Margetts incorporates Australasian perspectives and applications using the work of Australasian researchers and teachers. Numerous examples, case studies, guidelines and practical tips from experienced teachers are used in the text to explore the connections between knowledge, understanding and practice.




Handbook of Intellectual Styles


Book Description

[B]ecause of the thoroughness of the literature reviews and the comprehensive coverage of the chapter topics, [this book] should be required reading for any scholar working in related areas of personality or intelligence."--PsycCRITIQUES "This book is a masterly attempt to bring order and cohesion to a field that for many years has been riven with claims and counterclaims. The editors and authors are to be congratulated for addressing a very complex task so helpfully." John Biggs, PhD Honorary Professor of Psychology University of Hong Kong "If you are interested in intellectual stylesópeople's preferred ways of processing informationóthen this book belongs on your bookshelf." Richard E. Mayer, PhD Professor of Psychology University of California, Santa Barbara "For more than half a century, the construct of styleówhether designated as cognitive, thinking or learningóhas been in or out of fashion in the history of psychology and education. The editors of the present Handbook have invigorated the style construct in the form of intellectual styles, and have brought together a distinguished international panel of chapter authors who offer up-to-date surveys of the assessment, development, correlates, and educational and organizational applications of intellectual styles. For those seeking to familiarize themselves with current theory and research in an intellectually exciting field, the present Handbook is essential." Nathan Kogan, PhD Professor Emeritus, Department of Psychology New School for Social Research, New York, NY The concept of intellectual styles has had a controversial history based on diverse philosophical and theoretical foundations. Most recently, the idea of intellectual stylesóan umbrella term that covers such closely related constructs as "cognitive styles," "learning styles," "teaching styles," and "thinking styles"óhas gained momentum as an explanation for why different people succeed in different professional and organizational settings. Previously, it was thought that high-achievers simply had more innate abilities than their less successful peers, but research has shown that individuals have different intellectual styles that are better suited for varying types of contexts and problems. Based on the most current and expansive research, this handbook is the first to provide a comprehensive review of research on the construct of intellectual style, from its foundations and development, to its relations to allied constructs, its roles in school and job performance, its applications in various populations, and its future.. This understanding of intellectual styles as a valid concept for both individuals and groups has far-reaching implications for researchers in cross-cultural psychology, multicultural education, organizational behavior and work performance, and many other academic disciplines, as well as practitioners in education and beyond. Key Features: Provides a comprehensive review of intellectual styles from multiple perspectives Written for students and scholars in diverse academic arenas, as well as practitioners in education and other fields Includes contributions from researchers from diverse disciplines, such as psychology, business, education, and health sciences