The comprehension and recall of instructional text is heavily dependent upon the contexts in which information input and retrieval occur. College students (N=44) recalled the contents of a hierarchically structured text immediately after study and again six weeks later. Total meaningful recall was better when the superordinate concepts, or cues,…

Two experiments examined the effects of embedded and intact (outline) headings on the processing of complex text material by college students. Results indicated that embedded headings reliably improved delayed test performance. It was further found that instructions in the use of headings as processing aids facilitated test performance. (Author/PN)

A study was conducted to examine the relationships of four areas of textual design factors that are relevant to external students' learning as they use their course study guides: the micro and macro textual features, the linguistics, and the instructional design elements. Twelve external students from two units at the Gippsland Institute were…

Preplays (critical material presented before a televised program) were inserted before three sections of a televised story to determine if they would improve children's attention and comprehension by providing overall plot structure for selecting and integrating important story events. The preplays varied on two orthogonal dimensions: presence or…

The purpose of this current research effort was to identify and validate the effectiveness of alternative learning strategies. Learners employing networking and interactive peer study substrategies achieved more than did no-treatment controls. Similarly, strategies-trained learners reported greater positive learning attitude changes than did…

Reviews results of an experiment comparing the comprehension and recall of four groups: those who watched a videotape without taking notes; those who took notes while watching; those who took notes on questions in advance; those who orally replied to questions while watching. Comprehension was higher in the interactive groups. (MJP)

Pedagogical grammar is the presentation of grammatical information for teaching purposes. Two important distinctions are relevant here: reference books versus teaching grammars programmed into a course, and generalized versus specialized grammars, (depending on the extent to which they have been designed to meet specific teaching/learning…

This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The 21 titles deal with a variety of topics, including the following: effects of methods of study, cognitive style, pre-information on the construction of written material, gender of generic pronouns, and study questions interspersed…