This paper presents two general approaches to the assessment of knowledge structures, the first of which entails the building of empirical evidence to support cognitive theory. This type of assessment is concerned with attempting to prove the existence of various knowledge structures; that is, evidence that leads to the construct validity of these…

Describes a model for generative teaching of comprehension that focuses on students' knowledge base and preconceptions; motivation; attention; and generation of new models and explanations. Generative teaching procedures for facilitating comprehension in elementary school are reported. (Author/LB)

Two kinds of perspectives governing the provision and preservation of knowledge, a universal and an ecological perspective, are discussed in this paper. In the first case, scientific observations are represented through a semantic interpretation of facts. This is illustrated with a series of experiments on semantic feature perception in the recall…

Suggests that the study of memory needs to be situated within broader conceptual and research contexts. Examines how four contexts accommodate memory phenomena: (1) knowledge; (2) comprehension; (3) context/function; and (4) strategy. Suggests that memories are best examined as knowledge structures resulting from efforts to understand, and that…

The technical reports summarized in this paper were prepared as part of a project designed to determine what is known about the teaching of cognitive skills and to formulate questions relating to such teaching for further research. Topics discussed in the 22 reports include the following: (1) teaching thinking; (2) Aristotle's logic; (3) a…

History and the social sciences can be defined as recorded narratives or stories about the past or present that describe change and continuity over time and seek to explain this change and continuity through a series of cause and effect propositions based on evidence and shaped by the scholar's social frame of reference. In social studies there…

Discusses the importance of instruction in metacognition, the mental process of observing, evaluating, and making adjustments in one's own thinking behavior to enhance comprehension during a learning activity. Reviews educational programs which have taught metacognitive behaviors and charts a model instructional approach for use in the college…

Stresses the importance of metacognitive skills (knowledge of one's own cognitive processes) in mathematical performance. Discusses the differences between metacognitive thinking and metacognitive experiences and the ways they each influence performance. Describes how accurate metacognition improves students' mathematical performance, and outlines…

Trends in emphases in the study of clinical reasoning are examined, with attention to three major branches of research: problem-solving, knowledge engineering, and propositional analysis. There has been a general progression from a focus on the generic form of clinical reasoning to an emphasis on medical content that supports the reasoning…