Outlines a psycholinguistic model of vocabulary acquisition in a second language in an instructional setting. The model is based on an understanding of the representational characteristics of the second language lexicon. (Author/VWL)

This paper addresses Lawson's puzzlement about the absence of prediction in William Harvey's and Marcello Malpighi's views on capillaries. In addressing the context of that enquiry, it also addresses historiographic versus philosophical models of science, contexts of discovery versus justification, normative versus descriptive interpretations of…

This paper examines the multivariate multiple regression model and explores its applicability to communication research. The first section discusses partitioning of a data matrix, as a heuristic device for distinguishing among alternative regression models. Section two examines various aspects of univariate multiple regression, including the form…

This scholarly paper assesses biases due to measurement errors in structural equation models of the intergenerational transmission of socioeconomic status by estimating unobserved variable models with data from the remeasurement program of the 1973 Occupational Changes in Generation-II survey. It is noted that reports of social background and…

An information-processing model was tested for a laboratory visualization task that represents one adaptation of a standardized spatial ability test. The pattern of results suggests that individual differences are a function of differences in the accuracy and/or quality of the mental representation, not just speed of processing. (Author/BW)

We report a study of 10-14 year old children's use of additive strategies while solving ratio and proportion tasks. Rasch methodology was used to develop a diagnostic instrument that reveals children's misconceptions. Two versions of this instrument, one with "models" thought to facilitate proportional reasoning and one without were…

This study examined the effectiveness of a metacourse consisting of eight lessons interspersed over a semester-long beginning course in BASIC and aimed at providing mental models, problem-solving strategies, key concepts, and other heuristic structures. The experimental group consisted of 6 teachers who taught 9 classes of a total of 132 high…

Two studies are presented in this report. The first is titled "Empirical Studies of Multilevel Approaches to Test Development and Interpretation: Measuring Between-Group Differences in Instruction." Because of a belief that schooling does affect student achievement, researchers have questioned the empirical and measurement techniques…

Examines the deductive approach to error diagnosis for intelligent tutoring systems. Topics covered include the principles of the deductive approach to diagnosis; domain-specific heuristics to solve the problem of generalizing error patterns; and deductive diagnosis and the hypertext-based learning environment. (Contains 26 references.) (JLB)

Argues that, to deal effectively with sentence errors of basic writers, it is crucial to distinguish between what should be left alone and what can be productively marked and how it should be marked. Proposes a taxonomy of four sources of errors (knowledge, dialect, process, and developmental errors) and seven ways to address them. (SR)

Seventh-grade students were tested to uncover arithmetic errors. Answers and intermediate steps were analyzed and models to represent students' behavior were developed. Certain errors were common across students. Others were tied to the format of the test item. Some superficial understandings of mathematical concepts were exposed. (Author/DC)

Describes observations, written samples, and interviews of (n=24) high school teachers learning concepts of group, subgroup, coset, normality, and quotient group in an Abstract Algebra course. General observations are made about the role of errors and misconceptions in light of an action-process-schema framework. (32 references) (MKR)

Describes a study conducted in 1988 that investigated book availability in an academic library by providing a quantitative measure of library performance based on outcomes of card catalog searches and that can serve as a model for ongoing assessment in the library. Results are compared with earlier research from 1986. (Contains 12 references.)…

Different aspects of human-machine interaction are discussed in the five brief papers that comprise this report. The first paper, "Some Observations on Mental Models," discusses the role of a person's mental model in the interaction with systems. The second paper, "A Psychologist Views Human Processing: Human Errors and Other…

This report illustrates a network of procedures which can be used to solve problems involving the addition and subtraction of fractions. This network, which is based on a skills hierarchy, is used to classify seven levels of student competency. The determination of student competency depends upon the careful construction of error-diagnostic tests.…