This review of the literature on five learner control variables in computer-based instruction concludes that: (1) pacing left to learner control has been found ineffective because learners tend to procrastinate or to exit lessons prematurely; (2) sequence, or content flow, has been an ineffective variable left under learner control since…

Reviews procedures followed during traditional organizational change and identifies factors that lead to increased intrinsic motivation. Topics discussed include problem solving, level of challenge, competence, people as information processors, curiosity, task complexity, the need for organization, and choice in degree of control. (17 references)…

Examines the relationship between users' expertise, task complexity of information system use, and artificial intelligence to provide the basis for a conceptual framework for considering the role that artificial intelligence might play in information systems. Cognitive and conceptual models are discussed, and cost effectiveness is considered. (27…

The notion of literature's difficulty must have begun with its first interpreter. Biblical readings sometimes allegorized scripture into moral precept, while occult readings (i.e., Gnostic writings) often carried an implication that such texts are either for an elite readership or represent the essence of a tradition of spiritual truth under…

While thematic curriculum designs based on Bruner's structuralism are a great improvement over the old chronological literature anthologies, they still ignore several important contexts in which a literary work might be studied. The multifunctional approach can provide this complexity of contexts. (SJL)

This holistic approach to speechreading instruction proposes: enhancement of the child's self-motivation, strategy-based instruction, an interactive processing approach that focuses on meaning and psycholinguistic guessing, bisensory instruction, and a hierarchical continuum beginning with easy, successful activities that gradually increase in…

Increasingly over the past several years, the reading of literature has been viewed as a social interpretive process. Conceptions of reading have changed from a largely cognitive process of print decoding to a socially situated one of understanding and appropriating a variety of discourse and text conventions. "Difficulty" is the result…

The papers included in this collection represent as closely as possible the content and organization of the oral presentations delivered at a March 1980 conference on the use of readability formulas. The papers discuss the following topics: (1) an introduction to the conference, with general remarks on the uses and criticism of readability…

Ease of language processing varies with the nature of the language involved. Ordinary spoken language is the easiest kind to produce and understand, while writing is a relatively new development. On thoughtful inspection, the readability of writing has shown itself to be a complex topic requiring insights from many academic disciplines and…

The article discusses three features of content area textbooks that make them relatively easy to read, understand, and learn from--structure, coherence, and audience appropriateness. For each feature, the article describes the research basis for the feature, outlines problems with existing textbooks, and presents suggestions for evaluating…

Discusses whether educators should write their own computer-assisted instructional software, and describes four basic categories of tools teachers can use to produce courseware: (1) traditional programing languages; (2) authoring languages, including hypertext authoring languages; (3) authoring systems; and (4) authoring aids. Each category is…

Research has demonstrated that the acquisition of English literacy skills is extremely difficult for many deaf students, that is, students with severe to profound hearing impairments. As a result, there has been a call for the development of bilingual and English-as-a-second-language programs for this population. This research review addresses…

Romanian is characterized by a richness of surface forms that are difficult to classify and even more difficult for the learner to assimilate. There is much instructional material available in Romanian, and in a survey of fifty works published outside the country, four categories emerged: teaching materials, pedagogical grammars, grammars, and…

An online library system is an example of a complex computer system in that it supports a variety of users, both patrons and staff, and is made up of many intricate programs with complex relationships among them. Certain features are essential to a user friendly system: (1) users cannot get lost in the system; (2) users cannot enter illegal…

The popular view that children have an advantage in learning a second language has considerable support in research, although it is not uncontested. One approach proposes that the child possesses a unique capacity for language that the adult no longer has. Another view argues that the child's brain is more flexible. A third approach assumes that…