Mindfulness is the volitional, metacognitively guided use of nonautomatic, usually effortful processes. The dimension of mindfulness-mindlessness plays various important roles in different kinds of learning and transfer situations. Theoretical, operational, and educational implications of mindfulness are discussed; and relevant research is…

Cites evidence from an Israeli study which indicates that media effects on cognition interact with a child's initial level of skill mastery. (MH)

It is argued that learning from different sources greatly depends on the differential way in which these sources are perceived, for these perceptions determine to an important extent the mental effort expended in the learning process. Two ideas are discussed: (1) amount of mental effort investment (AIME), defined as the number of nonautomatic…

The definition of film attributes must bridge the gap between technical descriptions of the attributes (e.g., the arrangement of the visual material) and expected psychological effects of the attributes. Interaction effects between learner traits, learning objectives, and a film's attributes should be expected, since each attribute contributes to…

An experiment was conducted in which the relationships of basic television and film codes to particular literacy mental skills were examined. Different versions of the same film, each focusing on a different code, were produced and shown to fifth graders. It was found that children with initially better mastery of the relevant skills extract more…

Four TV film versions of the same story were shown to fifth graders; the presentation format of each film varied. Different patterns resulted between initial mental skills and knowledge acquired from each format, depending upon whether the format called upon or supplanted the skill. (Author/GDC)

This experiment studied the extent to which training of two behaviors affects subjective response uncertainity and information seeking. The two behaviors were cue attendance, i.e., analyzing a complex stimulus and identifying its discrete components, and hypotheses generation, i.e., the generation of numerous alternative hypothetical explanations…

Students often fail to apply knowledge and skills learned in one context to other situations. Although the implicit assumption in educational practice has been that transfer takes care of itself, a knowledge of the mechanisms of transfer can enable educators to help their students integrate general and local knowledge. (TE)

Arguing that the most widespread argument in favor of the teaching of programming concerns its possible impact on generalizable cognitive skills, this paper addresses the "how" of transfer. The outlines of a theory of the mechanisms of transfer are presented, the theory is used to examine the contrasts between certain studies that did…

The class of media characteristics, which is generic to them and which may be of potentially great relevance to learning, is the way in which media select, highlight, structure, and present information, i.e., their "languages" or symbol systems. How, if at all, and why do symbol systems, in general, differentially relate to cognition and learning?…

This paper examines the gap between the learning potentials that computers provide and the actual impact of computer use on learning and development. It is argued that the computer's unique potential is derived in part from four basic attributes: information, symbol systems, user activities, and relations with the user. It is hypothesized that…

Sixth graders (n=124) were tested for their perceptions of self-efficacy with print and TV, perceived media realism, and attributions of failure and success with each medium. The amount of invested mental effort (AIME) and achievement were measured. The roles of a priori perceptions and AIME in learning are discussed. (Author/BS)

These two studies suggest that children's preconceptions of the effort needed to understand material presented on television and in print appear to affect the depth with which they process the information, thereby making their own expectations come true. (PD)

The failure of research on media to deal with media's symbol systems is discussed. Nature of symbol systems is described and related to cognition and learning. Symbolic elements used by media can facilitate the cultivation of mental skills in interaction with individual differences and depth of processing. (Author/RD)