Recent literature on learning with instructional manipulatives seems to call for a moderate view on the effects of perceptual and interactive richness of instructional manipulatives on learning. This "moderate view" holds that manipulatives' perceptual and interactive richness may compromise learning in two ways: (1) by imposing a…

Recent research indicates that perceptual learning (PL)--experience-induced changes in the way perceivers extract information--plays a larger role in complex cognitive tasks, including abstract and symbolic domains, than has been understood in theory or implemented in instruction. Here, we describe the involvement of PL in complex cognitive tasks…

In the present study, we analyzed mice with a targeted deletion of [beta]-catenin in DA neurons (DA-[beta]cat KO mice) to address the functional significance of this molecule in the shaping of synaptic responses associated with motor learning and following exposure to drugs of abuse. Relative to controls, DA-[beta]cat KO mice showed significant…

Cerebellar pathology is associated with impairments on a range of motor learning tasks including sequence learning. However, various lines of evidence are at odds with the idea that the cerebellum plays a central role in the associative processes underlying sequence learning. Behavioral studies indicate that sequence learning, at least with short…

Three major "neural systems", specialized for different types of information processing, are the sensory, declarative, and procedural systems. It has been proposed ("Trends Neurosci.",30(4), 135-141) that dyslexia may be attributable to impaired function in the procedural system together with intact declarative function. We provide a brief…

The author discusses a line of research examining the acquisition, organization, and use of knowledge associated with conceptual change in which she is engaged at the University of Maryland. It builds on foundational research by scholars in science, mathematics, and reading education as well as in motor learning and physical education pedagogy,…

This study evaluates the relationships that exist between three types of visual and perceptual-motor tasks (coincidence-anticipation, tracking with rotary pursuit, and a unique two-dimensional discrete motor task) and investigates the nature of learning demonstrated by the subjects on each of the three tasks. Thirty male students were given 20…

The results suggest that coding for storage in the short-term memory is effective when learning occurs under incidental conditions; however, long-term storage appears to be significantly affected by the intention to learn and the foreknowledge of a recall test. (MM)

Compared were the performances on a visual-motor task of 130 8-to 30-year-old retarded persons with separate etiologies but similar intelligence levels (in five categories ranging from IQ 30-91). (Author/CL)

Children were pretested and assigned to one of three treatments: training with three dimensional manipulanda; the same program except that the instructional materials were line drawings; and a control. On the posttest, both experimental groups were significantly superior to control group. (Author)

Provides evidence indicating a strong connection between a high level of ambient household noise and intellectual deficits at stages of infant development. Observers rated noise level from all household sources (stereos, appliances, etc.). Delays were found in sensorimotor development with high levels of noise. (Author/JN)

The author's purpose in this paper is to explain and illustrate four principles for designing learning environments within which even young children can acquire complex symbolic skills with relative ease. After discussing the principles themselves and the theoretical system out of which they emerged, the author considers an illustrative…

INSTRUCTIONAL AND EQUIPMENT CONSIDERATIONS IN THE DESIGN OF THE STUDENT MACHINE INTERFACE, THE POINT OF CONTACT OF A LEARNER WITH AN EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM DISPLAY, ARE DISCUSSED. INSTRUCTIONAL ASPECTS ARE CONSIDERED WITH RESPECT TO THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE INDIVIDUALIZATION OF THE LEARNING ENVIRONMENT, THE SEQUENCING OF INSTRUCTIONAL STEPS, AND…

Eighty-four nine year old children, twelve in each of seven experimental groups, learned a two-choice successive discrimination problem. The parameters that were systematically manipulated included: (1) immediate versus delayed reinforcement; and (2) forced preresponse stimulus exposure versus stimulus exposure during the delay interval,…