A study was conducted involving two experiments to address the question "What effects do students' beliefs about the nature of knowledge have on comprehension?" Experiment one involved 117 junior college students and 149 university students as subjects. An epistemological questionnaire was administered to the undergraduates. Factor…

Three concerns investigated were: (1) the effect of two methods of teaching reading comprehension skills in a content area upon students' problem-solving performance on first-year algebra word problems; (2) the effects of three achievement levels of each assigned factor--reading comprehension, computational mathematics, and mathematical…

Theoretical and empirical work was conducted on the role of the "mental model," or how-it-works information, in learning to operate equipment. The original project was concerned with empirical and cognitive modeling studies of how people learn to operate equipment from the kind of information contained in technical documentation. The…

To help students strengthen competencies in reading and writing direct instruction is essential. Modeling is a key component in direct instruction. The kind of materials used can help provide more cultural awareness among learners. Written materials of current interest need to be selected. Sources are varied including such periodicals as…

Consisting of a selection of papers presented at the 1982 and 1983 meetings of the North Central Reading Association, this yearbook includes sections on computers, research, professional issues, and programs. Papers include: "The Computerized Broom Will Sweep Our Future Classrooms: But Not Necessarily Clean" (George E. Mason); "Beyond the…

A study examined the relationship between text schemata and comprehension monitoring to determine elementary school children's detection and remediation of internal inconsistencies in narrative and expository passages. Data were elicited (through computerized experimental reading passages containing internal inconsistencies) from 87 students in…

This 3-year project examined the processes and strategies employed by English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) and native-English-speaking students when learning from academic texts. A conceptual model guided the analysis of talk aloud protocols elicited from students as they answered questions from textbook materials used in an introductory…

Underlying the research reported in this paper is a theoretical framework which defines the self-regulation of learning as the number and kinds of teaching tasks students perform themselves. Three studies are presented on individual differences in regulation-processes emerging from thinking aloud protocols. Protocols of good and weaker performing…

A practicum addressed the problem of reading comprehension skills in low achieving students by monitoring their progress utilizing precision teaching. Based on referrals from classroom teachers, guidance counselors, and parents, five students ranging in ability levels from kindergarten through grade 8 were accepted into the program for one or more…

A study investigated the influence of key factors (general comprehension ability, prior knowledge of passage topic, interest in passage topic, and locus of control) on training at-risk college students in the use of graphic organizers as a cognitive learning strategy. Subjects, 60 college freshmen required to take a developmental reading/study…

Students can be taught to interpret and write about literature by emphasizing the thinking skills or strategies involved. A series of activities emphasizes thinking skills since this is where textbook teaching methodologies sometimes get off track. The first activity is designed to find out where students are having difficulty in reading and…

A study reanalyzed data from two previous studies to investigate (1) validity of imagery ratings and reports as measures of reader response to a story, and (2) similarity of final regression models for recall and imagery reports. Imagery and affect ratings of story paragraphs were found to predict both imagery reports and recall of a second,…

Two issues of this list (February and March 1990) contain reviews of courseware for kindergarten through grade 12. Entries are classified by subject or application, i.e., communication skills, math, science, social studies, health, and utility software. Information on each software package includes the title, publisher, copyright data, price,…

Four issues of this list (April, May, June, and July 1990) contain reviews of courseware for kindergarten through grade 12. Entries are classified by subject or application, i.e., communication skills, math, science, social studies, health, and utility software. Information on each software package includes title, publisher, copyright date, price,…

A study examined the effects of instruction in meaningful units on the comprehension and fluency of poor readers in the fourth grade. Subjects were five fourth-grade students in a northeast Georgia school classified as poor readers. Method of instruction included modeling smooth reading with appropriate junctures and good intonation. The…