Categories are fundamental to everyday life and the ability to learn new categories is relevant across the lifespan. Categories are ubiquitous across modalities, supporting complex processes such as object recognition and speech perception. Prior work has proposed that different categories may engage learning systems with unique developmental…

There is growing interest in the link between implicit statistical learning (SL) and reading ability. Although learning to read involves both auditory and visual modalities, it is not known whether reading skills might be more strongly associated with auditory SL or visual SL. Here we assessed SL across both modalities in 36 typically developing…

This study investigated the role of sequential processing in spoken language outcomes for children who are deaf or hard of hearing (DHH), ages 5;3-11;4, by comparing them to children with typical hearing (TH), ages 6;3-9;7, on sequential learning and memory tasks involving easily nameable and difficult-to-name visual stimuli. Children who are DHH…

Humans are capable of extracting recurring patterns from their environment via statistical learning (SL), an ability thought to play an important role in language learning and learning more generally. While much work has examined statistical learning in infants and adults, less work has looked at the developmental trajectory of SL during childhood…

The main purpose of this study was to determine whether partially imposed imagery can be faciliatative in children's oral prose learning at an age where fully induced imagery is not. The results of this experiment are somewhat consistent with this speculation. While kindergarten subjects benefited only with fully imposed imagery, second grade…

Investigates the cues beginning readers use in recognizing verbal stimuli. (Author/DEP)

Beginning with a survey of work previously done on the subject, this study attempts to learn more about how, and to what extent, children benefit from pictorial illustrations, with a view to improving instructional materials. Three areas were investigated with experiments using children from nursery schools and kindergarten to sixth grade. The…

Visual and auditory stimuli were presented to children to measure symbol processing abilities. Slides which required matching the similarities in two objects in a group of three were presented. At times the matching criteria varied between function, color, and form. Reaction time was quicker when matching by color than by function, which was…

Knowledge of how children "read" television pictures can provide understanding of how powerful a tool television is for teaching and learning. It affects the images viewers have of themselves and of the world. Turning off television is not only turning off experiences but also turning off opportunities for learning as well as preventing youngsters…

Educational case studies of three multiply handicapped blind children (five to ten years old) are presented in a discussion of visual stimulation approaches. Objectives of activities such as coupling a light with a sound-producing object are described. (CL)

This study investigated the ability of color and motion to elicit and maintain visual attention in a sample of children with cortical visual impairment (CVI). It found that colorful and moving objects may be used to engage children with CVI, increase their motivation to use their residual vision, and promote visual learning.

THE DESIGN OF THIS STUDY WAS TO (1) DESCRIBE A WAY OF ANALYZING GRAPHIC OR PICTORIAL MATERIALS, (2) DESIGN SOME STIMULUS MATERIALS WITH THIS METHOD OF ANALYSIS IN MIND, AND (3) TEST SOME PREDICTIONS BASED ON IMPLICATIONS RELATED TO THE ANALYTICAL METHOD IN AN EXPERIMENTAL STUDY. A SET OF GRAPHIC MATERIALS WAS ANALYZED AND DESCRIBED WITHIN A…

Techniques for evaluating the multiply impaired child's functional level of vision are described and a sequence of visual stimulation instruction for children with visual impairments is presented. (PHR)

Describes ways for developing visual imagery in the early childhood education program, preparing children for discrimination learning and reading instruction. (RL)

Lists strategies for promoting functional vision use in children with visual and motor impairments, including providing postural stability, presenting visual attention tasks when energy level is the highest, using a slanted work surface, placing target items in varied locations within reach, and determining the most effective visual adaptations.…