This pamphlet was prepared for a two-fold purpose: (1) To produce a companion study to a previous pamphlet on "Assessing Compositions," and (2) To continue work on comprehension. It is limited to a practical study of the issues involved in composition and comprehension by devising, setting and marking regular comprehension tests for 14- and…

In this study, 30 male college students from two weightlifting classes and 30 female college students enrolled in an educational psychology course designed specifically for music education majors were asked to read two ambiguous passages, each of which could be interpreted in two different ways. The first passage could be perceived as describing…

The question of whether readers subjectively perceive the meaning of written materials is a specific form of the more general issue of whether human beings make or find knowledge. The subjectivist paradigm asserts that the first priority in the search for knowledge is the individual's awareness of personal motives for obtaining that knowledge. The…

Comprehensibility ratings and sentence-by-sentence reading times of three-sentence narratives (triples) were studied as a function of the coherence of a triple. In both experiments, reading times did not differ for first sentences, but were longer for third sentences of unrelated than for related triples. (Author/RM)

Two experiments examined the responses of 19-34 month old children to sentences susceptible to more than one interpretation. Results indicate that young children interpret and respond to language in terms of an action-based strategy and that even young children engage in a continuous, context-sensitive process of interpretation. (Author/JAC)

Simultaneous translation is used as the basis for a study of the transmission of meaning in the process of translation and in that of oral communication. The fact that most utterances give only a hint of an idea to express the entire thought is the foundation of the study. (Text is in French.) (AMH)

The development of children's comprehension of cause and effect relationships was studied in 68 kindergarten, first grade, and second grade children. (BRT)

Identifies kinds of thinking that fit naturally into elementary social studies curricula, using models of thinking that are not complex. Models include general problem solving skills and skills pertaining to specific types of intellectual tasks, such as comprehending information, solving specific problems, researching topics, and making decisions.…

Seven learning disabled elementary students received metacognitive training in the strategic use of language information (summarizing, questioning, clarifying, predicting) using a reciprocal teaching procedure. Although results of reading achievement posttests were insignificant, subjects experienced greater gains in self-esteem than a control…

Investigation of two- to four-year-olds' (N=20) understanding of temporal terms indicated that children were more likely to understand sentences using simple tasks, materials, and commands than more complicated sentences used in previous research. (Author/CB)

The study examined the performance of 19 pairs of autistic and nonautistic (but with a language delay of at least six months) children on the Test for Auditory Comprehension of Language. Results indicated no significant differences between groups or between sexes within groups in receptive language skills. (Author/DB)

Receptive and expressive humor was investigated in learning-disabled (LD), mildly retarded, and nondisabled students (N=54) from primary (ages 7-10), intermediate (ages 10-13), and middle school (ages 13-16) grades. LD students did not display increased understanding at later ages and had more difficulty with phonological than with lexical or…

Suggests that further explication of the notion of "importance" will benefit the reading field, at both practical and theoretical levels. (ARH)

The literature on metacognition and students having learning problems is reviewed. Investigations of metacognitive instruction to enhance memory skills, to increase text comprehension, and to improve written expression and math performance are reported. The roles of the teacher and learner in acquiring and controlling the targeted cognitive…

Examines the development of metaphor by using structure-mapping theory to make distinctions among kinds of metaphors. Proposes that children can understand metaphors based on shared object attributes before those based on shared relational structure. Results indicate a developmental shift toward focus on relational structure in metaphor…