The aim of this article is to show that individuals differ in the way they solve spatial tasks of all kinds, and both research on and measurement of spatial ability could profit from an integration of strategy aspects. We first review evidence for both intra- and inter-individual strategy differences (including gender differences) in 3 domains of…

It has been found that disoriented children could use geometric information in combination with landmark information to reorient themselves in large but not in small experimental spaces. We tested domestic chicks in the same task and found that they were able to conjoin geometric and nongeometric (landmark) information to reorient themselves in…

This study investigates the relationships between undergraduate hypermedia users' information processing styles and navigational patterns. Discusses use of the Human Information Processing Survey, learning styles and information processing styles, and brain hemisphericity. Results show a significant relationship between information processing…

Reviews recent research on information processing and decision making in orienteering. The main cognitive demands investigated were selection of relevant map information for route choice, comparison between map and terrain in map reading and in relocation, and quick awareness of mistakes. Presents a model of map reading based on results. Contains…

Studied cognitive processes of 12 elite orienteers (cross-country racers who navigate a course) during a race through indirect observation and interview. The 19-year-old orienteers reported their mental activity onto a small tape recorder. Responses were divided into four stages of mental activity: planning, registration and navigation, control…

We studied the development of spatial frames of reference in children aged 3-6 years, who retrieved hidden toys from an array of identical containers bordered by landmarks under four conditions. By moving the child and/or the array between presentation and test, we varied the consistency of the hidden toy with (1) the body, and (2) the testing…

As part of Liverpool University's Developing Navigational Skills project, 3 experiments examined the natural orienting behaviors of children aged 7-10, tested children's orientation abilities following 6-week training based on landmark or compass techniques, and investigated children's orientation strategies in familiar and unknown environments.…

Three experiments investigated the route-angularity effect, which is demonstrated when a greater number of turns along a route increases the estimated length. So far, a route-angularity effect has not been demonstrated in school-age children. Because of the lack of a developmental theory, this finding could only be explained by a minor control of…

This study examined the nature and extent of the applicability of Corno and Mandinach's (1983) self-regulation model in the new context of activities of searching the Internet. Data were collected from observations of 80 undergraduate subjects while they searched the Internet for information, as well as from survey information regarding their…

Anchored instruction calls for the establishment of a macrocontext to "anchor" instruction within a realistic situation. Evidence is provided that video anchors encourage students to adopt certain contrived goals over their more naturalistic goals. Suggests that goals that enable the problem solver to detect the "raison d'etre"…

Reviews relevant professional literature concerning hypermedia environments and adaptive instruction for online learning for distance education and continuing education. Highlights include aptitude-treatment interaction; cognitive processes; navigational paths; log files; and intelligent tutors. Contains 125 references. (LRW)

Videotaped observations were made of seventh and eleventh grade students using an instructional hypermedia system. Three profiles of hypermedia navigation emerged with each style characterized by distinct information processing strategies. Analysis of the characteristics of learners revealed that students within each profile group had similar…

This study investigated the relationships between hypermedia users' information processing styles and navigational patterns. Three aspects of navigational patterns were investigated: navigational depth patterns that reveal how comprehensively users access; navigational path patterns that display what sequences users follow; and navigational method…

Describes a study that was conducted to describe and interpret the cognition of a graduate student during information retrieval using the World Wide Web. Results of observation, think aloud protocols, and an in-depth interview are discussed within a theory of information processing, and implications for future research are suggested. (Author/LRW)

High ability, highly verbal fifth grade students (n=12) were studied, by employing think aloud protocols, to identify students' use of learning strategies, encoding processes, and navigational decisions in a hypermedia lesson on propaganda techniques. Subjects were asked to read and think aloud as they worked their way through the concept lesson…