Three models representing different relations between intellectual ability, metacognitive skills, and learning were compared. The conditions under which each of these models holds were investigated, on the basis of the threshold of problematicity theory [Elshout, J. J. (1987). Problem solving and education. In E. De Corte, H. Lodewijks, R.…

This paper reviews the corpus of research on feedback, with a particular focus on formative feedback--defined as information communicated to the learner that is intended to modify the learner's thinking or behavior for the purpose of improving learning. According to researchers in the area, formative feedback should be multidimensional,…

In light of recent research suggesting links between learning style and culture, this review of the literature looked at the various definitions of learning style, reviewed a framework for categorizing the types of instruments used to assess learning style, and explored the literature on learning style research among diverse groups. The study…

This final report reviews a program of theoretical and empirical research focusing on the ability determinants of individual differences in skill acquisition. An integrative framework for information processing and cognitive ability determinants of skills is presented, along with principles for ability-skill relations. Three major patterns of…

Questions concerning individual differences in learning ability may be more precisely addressed in light of an agreed-upon taxonomy of learning skills. Existing taxonomies are reviewed, and their shortcomings are described. A taxonomy is then proposed based on a synthesis of current thought consisting of four dimensions: the forms of knowledge;…

This research addresses the actual goals and intentions from which students plan and organize their work in a course of study. Representations can either facilitate or hinder learning and problem solutions. Several salient aspects of adult students' representational systems and how they influenced university study were examined in two studies. The…

The author expands on the false assumptions implied in the title and shows how they are in error. (AG)

Fourteen studies were reviewed whose findings indicate that learner control of certain presentation characteristics interacts with certain learner characteristics. Thus, learner control is not a panacea for accomodating individual differences. Instead, some kinds of individual differences probably should be taken into account by teachers and…

The two-phase study compared two methods of adapting self-instructional materials to individual differences among learners. The methods were compared with each other and with a control condition involving only minimal adaptation. The first adaptation procedure was based on subjects' performances on a learning task in Phase I of the study; the…

The objectives of this study were to determine the effect post-adjunct questions exert on: learning from oral and written instruction, learning by high and low ability readers, and learning material which requires different levels of intellectual processing. No significant main effects occurred between question and no-question groups. Post-adjunct…

In this investigation of potential sources of individual differences in free-recall learning and retention by children, learning ability is defined in terms of performance on a free-recall test with the upper and lower thirds of the distribution typically being defined as fast and slow learners. Variables concerned with short-term memory,…

Benjamin S. Bloom claims in his new book, "Human Characteristics and School Learning", that any child can learn anything taught in school, given enough time and quality teaching. Author does not share his optimism. (Editor/RK)

Three functions that might explain why analogies are effective reading aids are described. Six experiments using elementary, secondary, and college students are reported which address the use of analogies as reading aids. Performance improvement, reading time, effects of restrictive time conditions, and aptitude treatment interactions are…

Four studies examined the relationship between students' ability and the learning processes the students engaged in when they acquired knowledge from their classroom experiences. The research was based on a model of learning processes during knowledge acquisition that identifies critical learning experiences and predicts what is learned and…