Results indicate that transfer of learning depended on the congruence between students' previous learning in the experiment and subsequent instruction. (Author/BJG)

The importance of prior knowledge of informational content and organization for search performance on a database was evaluated for 17 undergraduates. Pretraining related to content, and information did facilitate learning logical search principles in a relational database; contest pretraining was more efficient. (SLD)

Because knowledge is constantly in flux, it is important for individuals to accurately incorporate new information into previously developed knowledge structures. Some of the issues surrounding this development of thought are explored in this paper. Although the phenomenon of knowledge integration is relatively common, very little empirical…

Explores teachers' changing attitudes and understanding of learning processes. (HTH)

Discusses how to design interactive video materials for adult learners. Highlights include capabilities of interactive video; characteristics of adult learners; allowing adults to set their own goals; establishing a need to know; linking new information to prior knowledge; and individual responsibility for learning.(LRW)

The differences among elaborative-interrogation, reading-to-understand, and no-exposure control conditions with familiar domain material in contrast to unfamiliar domain material were studied for 50 Canadian and 50 west German undergraduates. Results provide evidence of effects of both elaborative interrogation and prior knowledge on learning.…

This study was aimed at clarifying relations between the way students learn and personal, contextual and performance variables. Students from seven different academic disciplines completed the Inventory of Learning Styles (ILS). Besides, data about their age, gender, academic discipline, prior education and exam performance were gathered.…

This paper explores whether the principles of cognitive load and multimedia theory are mediated by cognitive style, gender, and prior knowledge. Participants were 91 children aged 10-11 years (54 boys, 37 girls), each assigned to one of two presentation modes. In Condition 1 children were presented with diagrams supported by printed textual…

The hypothesis that feedback in programmed instruction is an important variable in the learning of novel, but not familiar, content was investigated. A linear, constructed response program dealing with the Sabbath rituals in the synagogue was chosen due to wide variability in student familiarity with this topic. Subjects were randomly assigned to…

Presents and develops a general model of the nature of a learning system and a classification for learning systems. Highlights include the relationship between artificial intelligence and cognitive psychology; computer-based instructional systems; intelligent instructional systems; and the role of the learner's knowledge base in an intelligent…

An overarching learning theory is presented, based on assumptions that all learning includes (1) external learner-environment interaction and internal acquisition and elaboration and (2) cognitive, emotional, and social dimensions. The framework depicts four types of learning: cumulative, assimilative, accommodative, and transformative. (Contains…

To test whether cognitive interest in a topic is affected by how much the reader knows about the topic, 36 undergraduate students read a text, gave a rating for cognitive interest, and answered 2 recall measures. Associations among knowledge, cognitive interest, and text recall are discussed for their implications for learning. (SLD)

Our research reflects the current trend to relate individual differences in second language learning to underlying cognitive processes e.g., Robinson, 2002. We believe that such investigations, apart from being of practical importance, can also shed light on the cognitive mechanisms underlying the language learning process. Here we focus on the…

The World Wide Web (Web), the largest multimedia system in existence, has been heralded by many as the perfect tool for lifelong learning. One topic mentioned in this regard is science, since many adults have little prior knowledge about it and the field is constantly changing. Yet little empirical research has been done to examine how web…

In San Diego, California, 800 public school students from the inner city are attending a program called School in the Park (SITP), for approximately one-fourth of their 3rd-, 4th-, and 5th-grade education. This unique program blends rigorous academic standards (formal learning) with hands-on, experiential curricula (informal learning), using…