Anderson, Spiro, and Anderson (EJ 189 658) assert that the author's assimilation theory of meaningful learning and retention is "hopelessly vague." Documented examination of these assertions indicates that they are unspecified, unsubstantiated, undocumented, and based on indisputable misrepresentation of published material and on logical…

Effects on learning of most principal independent variables can be generalized within, but not between, five different categories: intellectual skills, verbal information, cognitive strategies, motor skills, and attitudes. Psychological research has been and continues to be well-served by this categorization. (GC)

This paper deals with the primary processes of cognition in fifth- and sixth-grade children; i.e., how children this age interpret what they see and hear, how they remember it, and how they reason and solve problems. Designed to provide background information for the staff of the Skills Essential to Learning Television Project (a multi-level…

Recent research in the area of prose comprehension is reviewed, including factors that affect amount of recall, representations of text structures, and use of world knowledge to aid comprehension. The need for more information processing models of comprehension is emphasized. Elaboration is considered important for comprehension and retention.…

Currently, the reliance on intelligence tests as the primary criterion for the placement of children in school programs has been challenged. Much of the controversy focuses on the insensitivity of these instruments to individual cognitive styles for different subgroups of children. While the issue of whether intelligence tests measure skill…

Reading encompasses a wide range of verbal processes, among them such simple verbal processes as word decoding, letter recognition, name retrieval, and semantic access. The question is whether simple verbal processing differences are adequate to account for general reading ability differences. Across different verbal domains and different ages,…

Current writings on the functions of the left and right hemispheres of the brain are examined, focusing upon possible implications for improving present educational techniques. It has been generally accepted by researchers that the organizational and verbalizing processes are functions of the left cerebral hemisphere, while creative and intuitive…

Studies investigating the functioning of persons who have cerebral lesions and evidence from the study of commisurotomized and normal subjects are reviewed. A study of recognition of pictorial stimuli by right-handed male children is also discussed. Studies about cerebral lesions and associated deficits have yielded information about the…

Reviews research regarding reading strategies used by Hebrew-speaking students to comprehend English for specific purposes texts, focusing on verbal report techniques in: developing a taxonomy for reading strategies; checking the appropriateness of mentalistic measures for different populations; determining similarities between first-language and…

Reviews studies suggesting benefits of block play for literacy development that provides actual reading and writing experiences. Suggests that block play centers can be literacy-enhanced with materials that are authentic, useful, and appropriate, including: thematic books, magazines, architectural blueprints, envelopes, and adding machine tape.…

A review of anthropological, psychological, and educational research pertaining to the quiet manner of American Indian students in classroom situations is presented. This phenomenon has been explained using the research perspectives of the learning style theory and interference theory. The learning style theory states that Indian children behave…