Students' informal inferential reasoning (IIR) is often inconsistent with the normative logic underlying formal statistical methods such as Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), even after instruction. In two experiments reported here, student's IIR was assessed using an intuitive ANOVA task at the beginning and end of a statistics course. In both…

This study investigated, with a dissociation paradigm, the distinction between remembering the information in a text, and learning from a text and applying the acquired knowledge (e.g., by making inferences). After reading an expository text, subjects (110 undergraduates) performed either a memory (recognition) or an inferencing (verification)…

Theories--based on concretizing, assimilation, and structuring--of the use of metaphors in learning are assessed. Each is shown to predict different patterns of inferences and errors in problem solving. An experiment with 43 undergraduates involving college lectures indicated that structuring may provide the most important function of metaphors in…

One-hundred two undergraduates studied a thematic map and read related text, with the order of presentation varied and half receiving a verbal prime related to the theme. Map-first students recalled more and made more correct inferences. Verbal priming did not affect theme-related recall or inference. (SLD)

A study tested the hypothesis that readers continually evaluate the informational content of text in terms of its relevance to processing goals and congruence with existing knowledge, and that they prioritize this information in terms of its strategic importance to the task at hand, integrating it with existing schemata when it is compatible.…

The proposition that the mastery of complex tasks embodies several components was studied for 236 students in an undergraduate introductory financial accounting course. A new curriculum was developed for the course that included in-depth exposure to the actual financial statements of a company and the understanding of the structural relationships…

The purpose of this research was to examine the relationship between semantic memory or integration and general ability. The main hypotheses are as follows: (1) the ability to memorize meaningless materials will not correlate with general ability; (2) the ability to abstract meaning from semantically related propositions will correlate with…

Discusses use of two central forms of argument, analogy and inference to the best explanation, in teaching college science. It is argued that science makes sense if the underlying reasoning makes sense, and this must be explicitly addressed in instruction. Therefore, forms of argument that link evidence to hypotheses or theories, and criteria for…

Scientific and everyday knowledge domains are compared so as to reveal the distinctive differences between their goals and the cognitive processes used to attain them. The main goals, working goals, learning difficulties, knowledge structure, concept specification, knowledge organization, role of school science, program-solving instruction, formal…

Studies second, fifth, eighth grade, and college undergraduate students' changes in the ability to draw inferences. Examines the generation process of the inferences. Finds that the ability to draw inferences increases with age; backward inferences are most likely to be drawn when the text is encoded; whereas forward inferences are most likely to…

Principles of W. Kintsch's reading comprehension model (1978, 1980) were used to revise an expository text. Two experiments with 170 undergraduates and 125 Air Force recruits indicated that the principled revision conveyed the author's intentions better than the original text, suggesting the model's use for text improvement. (SLD)

Presents a method for improving reading comprehension through direct instruction of inductive reasoning. Students gather clues to personality of characters as play progresses and from these arrive at an overall generalization concerning the complexities of the character. (SRT)

Describes study of undergraduates that investigated learners' preconceptions of the difficulty of interactive video, instructional television, and television. The effects of actively or covertly responding to practice questions on perceived mental effort, recall, and inferences are examined, and correlations between lesson time and inference or…