First year medical students answered parallel multiple-choice questions at different taxonomic levels as part of their diagnostic examinations. The results show that when content is held constant, students perform as well on interpretation and problem-solving questions as on recall questions. (Author/BW)

The hypothesis that overall-similarity relations structure both adults' and children's classifications of heterogeneous objects (objects that differ in a variety of ways) was supported in two experiments. When objects varied simultaneously on many dimensions, adults and children constructed classifications that maximized within-category similarity…

Educable mentally retarded (EMR) and nonretarded (NR) adolescents verified superordinate and basic level descriptions of common objects. Results suggest that EMR subjects had difficulty making semantic classification decisions in general. Other results suggest that group differences in semantic processing speed were related to the deliberate…

Shows how elaboration theory (ET) sequences the concepts in a taxonomy and argues that the product of an ET analysis is usually in general agreement with sequencing based on learning prerequisite relationships, and that ET sequencing of taxonomic concepts will not violate learning prerequisite relationships. (Author/MER)

The assumptions underlying the classfication rule-learning description of concept acquisition are critically examined. An alternative characterization of what it means to have a primacy hypothesis and Gibson's position that knowledge of the world is a product of direct perception are discusssed. (Author/RD)

Tests a curriculum designed to teach fifth and sixth grade students system dynamics thinking, an orientation that is congruent with the fourth and fifth levels of Bloom's "Taxonomy of Educational Objectives: Cognitive Domain".

In two experiments on free and cued recall, spacing between categorically related items, presentation rate and category size were varied and the effects on recall of items as a function of their serial order were studied. Results suggest subjects organize material during acquisition by retrieving and rehearsing previously studied items. (CHK)

Reports results of a study that analyzed two samples of essay-type examination answers and their connections with the grades obtained by Finnish high school graduation candidates. A two-way classification scheme is described where both the subject matter base and the type of information processing were taken into account. (nine references) (LRW)

Explored the relationship between the emergence of operational thought and the development of taxonomic categories in 101 first-graders. Concrete operational subjects showed a greater appreciation than preoperational subjects for taxonomic relations involving atypical exemplars. (RJC)

Examines a model for children's strategies for inclusion tasks. Suggests that young children are not consistent in task strategies and that they display mixed response strategies. Strategies may change with development. (ET)

The use of taxonomies of types and levels of learning for student assessment in higher education is discussed. Five taxonomies designed for a variety of instructional areas are described. The reasons for their use are examined from four points of view: pedagogical, professional, quality assurance, and management. (MSE)

This article offers guidelines for applying creative thinking to modern life stresses, focusing on the organization of experience into meaningful patterns. Suggestions are drawn from typical adult life stages, changes in role perception, mental effects of physical exercise, the use of suggestive fiction, mental classification of experience, and…

Two experiments examined the development of recall organization by observing use of categorical and spatial clustering strategies and how encoding experiences and recall task influence degree of organization. Children and adults recalled furniture from their home. Older subjects organized items spatially; when recalling objects and their…

A participatory model in evaluation is presented as an extension of the stakeholder-based model focusing on the increased participation of primary users. Twenty-six empirical studies that support an organizational learning justification of the model are reviewed and classified. Requirements for participatory evaluation are discussed. (SLD)

A study involving elementary school students in three age groups examined two explanations for the finding that young children tend to classify objects according to similarity relations, whereas adults emphasize dimensional structure. Results countered the view that children perceive objects according to a more primitive holistic structure. (RH)