Human movement plays a foundational role in cognition and learning. This topical collection brings together theoretical and empirical work examining how gestures, physical activity, and virtual movement enhance learning in language, multimedia, and activity-based learning. Regarding language learning, interacting with virtual object improves…

This review article starts with an overview of changing education paradigms and the literature on cognitive and linguistic relationships in imaginative play related to comprehension of oral and written texts. Strategies for developing the cognitive and linguistic foundations for text comprehension through play are described. A review of current…

Universal screening of very early school-age children (age 4-7 years) is important for early identification of learning problems that may require enhanced learning opportunity. In this context, use of standardized instruments is critical to obtain valid, reliable, and comparable assessment outcomes. A wide variety of standardized instruments is…

The literature of reading theory and research suggests a number of key factors involved in the comprehension process. In simplest terms, comprehension is the process by which an individual actively generates meaning from some linguistic input. Five factors of reading comprehension have been identified through research: vocabulary knowledge, the…

Viewing language acquisition as the product of a biased learner who takes advantage of the information available from a variety of sources in his or her environment, this book provides a new way of thinking about the process of language comprehension. The analysis in the book borrows insights from theories about the development of mental models,…

Problems inherent in curricula for trainable mentally retarded (TMR) students are considered, approaches to cognitive training of retarded learners are reviewed, similarities among school problems of mentally retarded and minority children are pointed out, and a study investigating whether TMR students use or learn the necessary variety of…

Research on young children and their understanding and use of models indicates that they have particular difficulty understanding and using symbols that are in themselves interesting objects (have dual representation). Implications for the use of symbols for educational purposes are discussed, reviewing several commonly used symbolic objects. (SLD)

This paper proposes a reading model based on the metaphorical usage of neurobiological knowledge. The basic units, organization, and functioning of the Nurogen Model are described. The model's empirical scope is discussed focusing on letter and word perception, theme effects in comprehension, and the influences of text characteristics upon…

Finds that, between five and seven years of age, the majority of healthy children in modern urban-industrial societies achieve an understanding of the irreversibility, nonfunctionality, and universality of death. Suggests reasons for ambiguous findings concerning the relationship between the acquisition of the concept of death and developmental…

The second of eight related documents, this booklet is part of a series of papers presented at the 1978 National Right to Read Conference examining issues and problems in literacy. In its examination of the place of reading in the preschool curriculum, the booklet first explores different definitions of reading and develops a concept of the…

Examines the prevailing theories of reading comprehension: the psycholinguistic model, schema theory, and the skills model. Discusses their implications for instruction. (FL)

Reviews Gibson's contributions to the domain of perceptual learning, including her classic experiment concerning the perception of scribbles. Discusses Gibson's research on differentiation and the links between perception and learning, the status of her research and ideas, and her experimental approach. (BG)

Reviews research on aspects of metacognition in children's comprehension of television, particularly how skills in meta-memory, meta-attention, and meta-social cognition-correlate with comprehension. (PD)

Provides a rationale for teachers' use of reading for enjoyment as a means of developing reading ability and literature appreciation as opposed to a basic skills approach to teaching reading. (MKM)

Presents a brief history of the development of written language as a means of communication and discusses the characteristics of reading and how this latter activity contributed to the growth of subjectivity. (36 references) (CK)