Examines development of event memory by determining how personally experienced events with two types of structure were reported by kindergartners and adults. Events in making and playing with clay were organized causally and temporally. Results show that adults and children used a goal-based hierarchical structure to remember events, although use…

Experiences with an instructional strategy which enabled students to build for themselves the appropriate scientific concept for energy are described. This was done by pupil/teacher dialogue in small groups, in which students were expected to create for themselves a "generalization mechanism" based on their own frameworks. (KR)

The purpose of this study was to: (1) investigate the relationship between the learning approaches of high school students, their prior knowledge, and their attitudes toward chemistry, and their performance on a misconceptions test; and (2) describe and analyze the differences between the responses of students of different learning approaches on…

Describes two experiments that investigated the effects of two thematic retrieval cues on the types of information recalled from short stories by elementary school children and adults. Shows adults and fourth graders, but not younger children, spontaneously generated thematic retrieval plans which enabled them to remember information from both…

Compares kindergartners' and third and sixth graders' understanding of an illusion reported by the philosopher John Locke, in which two hands simultaneously experience two different temperatures from a container of water at one temperature. (HOD)

Examines the development of students' understandings about fractions during six weeks of instruction. Reports that all students possessed informal knowledge disconnected from their knowledge of fraction symbols and procedures and that knowledge of rote procedures often interfered with students' attempts to build on their informal knowledge.…

The effects of a visual advance organizer on a biology concept learning task among fifth graders (n=48) was investigated. After exposure to the advance organizer, three levels of learning outcomes-knowledge, comprehension, and application-were evaluated. Findings of the study are discussed in terms of the assimilation theory, aptitude-treatment…

Using schema theory as a contextual framework, three studies were conducted to examine the effects of two triggering mechanisms on transfer of learning across two noncontiguous passages: similar terminology for shared concepts and a brief review of the first passage read immediately before the second passage. The first two studies served to pilot…

This study of college students in business administration classes compares attitudes toward office computer use of students with typing or word processing skills to those of students without those skills. Results show typing and/or word processing skills were associated with greater degree of conceptual understanding of future office computer use.…

Concept maps and structured/clinical interviews were completed by 25 fourth graders and 25 college freshmen to determine knowledge of the human circulatory system. Students (N=945) at various levels were then measured for misconception frequencies. Student preconceptions appear to be tenacious, but confrontation strategies may assist fundamental…

Reviews the current literature concerning prior knowledge in an attempt to clarify problems with the terminology. Identifies the three main problems: lack of definition or vagueness, nominal versus real definitions, and different names/same constructs or same name/different constructs. Includes a conceptual map of prior knowledge terminology. (MJP)

Evidence from the research literature suggests that a variety of cognitive factors are responsible for chemistry achievement. This investigation examined the role that four cognitive factors, namely, prior knowledge, formal reasoning ability, memory capacity and field independence/dependence, play on achievement in chemistry as measured by tests…