The ability of 54 learning-disabled high-school students to monitor their comprehension was compared under three prereading conditions: self-questions only, structured overviews and self-questions, and a control condition. Subjects receiving both the overviews and self-questions were best able to detect errors during reading. (Author/DB)

Investigates effectiveness of advance organizers for teaching functioning and use of compilers to undergraduate students in computer science courses. Two experimental groups used the advance organizer while two control groups did not. Findings indicate that an explicitly concept-directed organizer is effective in providing a framework for…

This study investigated the effects of advance organizers on the English reading comprehension of six bilingual fifth and sixth grade learning disabled students whose primary language was Spanish. An alternating treatment design was implemented. Following each treatment, the students read an expository text written in English and answered eight…

This paper presents a detailed description of two information-processing tools, scripted cooperation and the use of knowledge mapping, and their potential application to deaf education. Scripted cooperation is a method for structuring the cooperative learning activities of student pairs. The roles and activities of the participants are scripted.…

A study investigated the effectiveness of using a small-group discussion as the main vehicle for the construction of an initial representation of a problem that activates previously acquired knowledge. College students (N=39) were randomly assigned to either an experimental condition or a control condition and asked to brainstorm about a presented…

The combined effects of orienting activities and levels of practice on learning from interactive video were examined in this study. The 72 college students who participated in the study were randomly assigned to either a group that received an orienting activity (i.e., a brief statement designed to prepare learners for the information to come) or…

Using the generative model of learning, this study investigates the effects of reader constructed text headings on readers' text recall and comprehension. One hundred pupils, ages 12-14, from the Blythe Bridge Comprehensive School, Staffordshire, England, were assigned to one of two treatment groups using a 1000-word passage. The experimental…

This working paper, which reviews the experimental literature on learning skills to provide background information to the staff of the Skills Essential to Learning Television Project (a multi-level series of video and print resources for classroom use), covers four areas: study skills, instructional development and design, cognitive psychology,…

Two studies evaluated the effectiveness of guided notes with five secondary students with mild disabilities and three postsecondary students with learning disabilities. In both studies, use of guided notes resulted in significantly improved academic performance. (Author/DB)

Reports on a study designed to investigate how the use of computer assisted instruction (CAI) tutorial programs, incorporating advance organizers and involving various sizes of groups of subjects, would affect achievement scores, retention scores, and rates of learning. (TW)

A study found that both paradigmatic and syntagmatic aspects of text were important for signifying meaning of text in the reading comprehension of 102 Australian students at 3 age levels (10, 12, and 14 years). Underlying comprehension problems was a lack of prior experience of text topics. Reading preparation through developing shared meanings is…

The effect of graphic organizers on 14 learning-disabled students' (grades 5 and 6) recall of science content was compared with that of students taught identical content without the graphic organizer condition. Evaluation two weeks later found no statistically significant differences between the groups on production or choice response tasks. (DB)

Three studies are described which compared the effects of headings in text in the form of questions with headings in the form of statements on the immediate factual recall of low-ability pupils in England. The first experiment used approximately 190 pupils, ages 11-12; the second used approximately 110 low-ability pupils, ages 14-15; and the third…

Two experimental groups of fourth graders received instruction in the use of graphic organizers. Subjects in the control group were taught by the reading-recitation method. Graphic organizer instruction improved students' ability to read and retain social studies information. (RM)

Investigated was the effect of concept mapping on science achievement. It was concluded that mapping concepts prior to, during, and subsequent to instruction led to greater achievement. (CW)