To examine individual differences among 20 elementary grade learning disabled poor readers in use of contextual cuing to aid word identification, words were presented in both connected text and in isolation. Group statistical analysis found a significant effect favoring context over isolation, although individual analysis favored isolation for…

Whether hierarchical ordering among fraction identification problems reflects the replacement of simple rules by complex rules was investigated. Latent class techniques revealed that children applied rules that were adequate for simple problems but had to be replaced to solve more complex problems. (Author/GK)

Two extreme, mutually exclusive logic patterns are considered--"creative" and "constructive." It is proposed that most individuals display intermediate traits of the two modes, and that an understanding of these qualities can further the concept that individuals learn differently and have different instructional needs. (RW)

The author proposes that Guilford's structure-of-intellect model be used as a starting point for researchers studying the interaction of instructional media attributes with individual differences in cognitive variables. (BD)

Educational researchers and policymakers need to understand the ecological correlation fallacy, since so much bad research (and policy) has been based on it. Aggregate data may or may not yield results that are true for individuals. Only individual-level data can correctly answer questions about the relationship between variables for individuals.…

The overview focuses on the advantages and principles of instruction using learning strategies for students with learning disabilities. It is emphasized that strategies are not to be applied without consideration of the individual, process, or context. (MSE)

Examined the contributions of 4 individual difference predictors for recall of object names in 93 children of 3 and 4 years. Results suggest that motivational factors contribute directly to young children's recall proficiency and do not mediate strategic study behavior. (RJC)

American education is stuck on well-intentioned, deeply traditional, but flawed ideas about teaching and learning. Failure to acknowledge a school's synergistic quality either paralyzes faculty or smothers changes already introduced. Pretending that serious restructuring can be done without honest confrontation is a cruel illusion. (MLH)

This article discusses an approach to teacher belief systems which casts an eye away from cognitive constructs toward sociological constructs to complement existing ideas about the nature and genesis of beliefs. I offer some theoretical ideas for extending the notion of beliefs and describe two contrasting senior mathematics teachers,…

Designed to gain a more thorough understanding of the cognitive processes involved and apply this knowledge in defining improved teaching strategies, this study of contour interpretation (referred to as "position fixing") required 12 subjects to locate their position on a map after being transported, blindfolded, to test sites where…

Research on interlanguage (IL), the intermediary language produced by a speaker when it is perceptible that he is not a native speaker, has concentrated on procedures to stabilize interlanguage at a given point, and on stabilized products, rather than on the destabilization that occurs when learning is pursued. Although it has been widely accepted…

The focus of research on cognitive processes has shifted toward an examination of the relationship between memory and interindividual differences of personality. A review of the research on two such personality traits (i.e., locus of control and field dependence-independence) shows that studies of locus of control as a factor in learning and…

What children do in play is simultaneously influenced by the properties of the play object and the skills of the child. Properties of objects lend themselves to re-engagement in investigative play or support for shared action. Repeated play with particular objects increases the number of actions possible with these objects. The process of…

Study supported by National Science Foundation Grant No. GB-1742, "Ability Components of Skill Learning.