Examines the communication strategies adopted by people of differing ages attempting to perform a referential communication task and to determine their ability to adapt their strategies to various task conditions. (HOD)

Issues concerning psychology and education that were raised at the 1983 British Psychology Society Education Section Conference are discussed. With respect to teacher training courses, a major issue is whether only practical experience and reflection on the experience can make theoretical learning relevant and usable. (RM)

Studies in self-questioning designed to improve students' prose processing are reviewed in the context of three theoretical perspectives: active processing perspective, metacognitive theory, and schema theory. The effects of self-questioning training on students' prose processing seem successful. Constraints of content knowledge and metacognitive…

Raymond B. Cattell's research has produced many conceptual, methodological, measurement, and data analysis tools for identifying and studying interindividual differences and similarities in intraindividual change patterns. Additional Cattell contributions to lifespan developmental research include personality and ability concepts and their…

Addresses the question of the degree of importance which accuracy of form has for the second-language learner. Effective techniques for focusing on form and correcting errors are discussed. The techniques are based on a grid that matches learner variables and instructional variables. (SED)

Reports results of studies with an unsupervised learning paradigm called competitive learning which is examined using computer simulation and formal analysis. When competitive learning is applied to parallel networks of neuron-like elements, many potentially useful learning tasks can be accomplished. (Author)

Describes some of the current views in semantics and semantic development and discusses the implications for vocabulary instruction. Explains the major theories of word meaning acquisition in children and lists researched variables of word meaning development. Offers examples of instructional strategies for effective vocabulary development. (ML)

Provides methods teachers can use to help remedial readers attack both monosyllabic and multisyllabic words they do not recognize. (FL)

Explains why structured composition assignments produce better writing than nondirectional writing experiences, explores the reasons for this, and establishes hypotheses based on these reasons for developing a theory of composition instruction. (HOD)

Provides historical perspective on the contributions of learning and instruction to instructional theory and discusses some major obstacles currently inhibiting its growth. Suggestions for future development of this discipline are provided. Emphasis is placed on the process of theory construction perceived by philosophers of natural and social…

An examination of the origin and content of general systems theory is followed by identification of the major characteristics of systems and brief discussion of use of models. Two ways of applying a systems model are identified and their appropriateness is assessed in relation to particular training circumstances. (55 references). (Author/MBR)

Reaffirms the relationship between classification and reading and supports the emphasis on the substrata factor theory on classification and superordination in particular. (FL)

Reports on the reading processes of seven research physicists using data gathered from a series of interviews and observations. Reveals reading processes permeated with individual purposes and schema. (FL)

Describes dialogue journals, which provide natural, functional experiences with both reading and writing. Suggests guidelines for both their classroom implementation and for teachers' responses to children's journal entries. (FL)

Disproves two assumptions about the development of written language by examining the spontaneous writing of a young child. Expounded primarily by James Britton and associates, the assumptions are (1) children's early writing is relatively undifferentiated in function, and (2) the primary starting point for young writers is writing stories. (HTH)