Reports on a study that examined the effects of prior knowledge and topic interest on the reading comprehension of seventh- and eighth-grade students. The results suggested that both prior knowledge and topic interest were autonomous factors in reading comprehension. (HOD)

This interview study gathered information about the prior knowledge and thinking of kindergarten to third- graders regarding the supply of water, heat, and light to modern homes. Findings indicated that students possessed only limited and spotty knowledge about utilities in modern homes. Within general trends, there was evidence of growth in…

This study examined the cognitive development of students enrolled in three levels of freshman chemistry courses and focused on changes in spatial ability over time. Results indicate that performance on general Piagetian-type tasks, including spatial visualization, can be refined through educational intervention. Concludes that students appear…

Reports on a study that examined the nature of vocal jazz improvisation and the factors that influence achievement in improvisation. Participating subjects performed two jazz improvisation tasks that were measured for tonal, rhythmic, and expressive items. Correlating independent variables included jazz theory knowledge, jazz experience, and…

This paper reports on the results of a study investigating attitude toward computing for a large group (n=509) of students undertaking an introductory information systems course in an Australian university. Students were surveyed using a two-part questionnaire. The first section dealt with gender, previous computing experience, and level of…

Utilizes multiple regression analysis to examine the relative contributions of measures of musical aptitude, music experience, and gender in predicting grades in a music theory course for non-music majors. Results suggest that performance experience is the only statistically significant grade predictor for this group. (MJP)