Discusses three significant developments in comprehension theory (integration of information, prior knowledge, and prose organization) together with how certain innovative testing strategies can be used to match theory with format. Finds that six of the tests commonly used by special educators assess either a single dimension of reading…

Interviewed 49 Scottish preschoolers about their understanding of literacy and numeracy. Found that children of this age group often held erroneous or conflicting beliefs about their ability to read or count. Subjects indicated some understanding of the generalities of story reading and counting before they could actually perform either activity.…

Examined the effect of mothers' familiarity with a formal operations task on performance and monitoring of a cognitive task with their children and on the child's later performance alone. The task-familiar mothers elicted higher level strategies during problem solving and allowed their children to participate more than did the other mothers; their…

Describes study that tested the validity of the Computer Anxiety Rating Scale (CARS) with MBA students. Demographic traits and cognitive styles are considered, the effect of computer courses on computer anxiety is studied, and factor analysis is used to assess the construct validity of the CARS. (24 references) (LRW)

The influx of veterans into higher education after World War II led to the development of a monumental system for testing and evaluation of prior learning through military service. The assumptions of the process continue to have implications for the assessment of adult life experience and its integration in college curricula. (SK)

Discusses the importance prior knowledge plays in learning in the content areas. Discusses previewing pictures as a prereading activity and presents a picture analysis activity which can be used to activate prior knowledge to use as a foundation for good bridge building. (MG)

This paper describes computer-aided cognitive rehabilitation for mentally deficient persons. It lists motor, cognitive, emotional, and educational prerequisites to such rehabilitation and states advantages and disadvantages in using the prerequisites. (JDD)

Sixty young children estimated their performance in beanbag throwing. In the three prediction conditions, subjects articulated the differences between their performance and their predictions, only observed the difference, or were unable to observe their performance. Results indicated subjects were aware of differences between performance and…

Whether informal subject-oriented prior-knowledge state assessment or information progress-assessment results in increased study pace or a positive effect on final test results was studied with over 9500 open education college students. Student characteristics related to differences in participation in information-assessment procedures were…

Describes a study conducted with mature students at the Open University (Great Britain) who entered with low educational qualifications. Using a social cognitive framework, a model of credible and tentative students was developed which focuses on the interplay between psychological, social, and institutional issues which affected their study.…

Describes approaches taken with concepts associated with exponential functions by using graphing calculators to provide students with concrete meaning for the sometimes abstract concepts involved and to link students' learning with their existing knowledge. (ASK)

Examines the development of reading skill during the first school year using preschool motivational orientation, coping tendencies, knowledge of alphabet, and phonemic awareness as predictors. Finds that preschool phonemic awareness and task orientation are associated with enhanced word-reading fluency. (DSK)

Reviews Northern Virginia Community College's Prior Learning Activity for Credit Evaluation (PLACE) program, which helps returning adult students and those attending college for the first time capitalize on their experiences and earn college credit for them. Describes the author's grant-related activities of revising PLACE's workbook and teaching…

Examined the effects of text-based tasks and background knowledge on incidental vocabulary acquisition among adult English-as-a-Second-Language-learners who received treatments involving reading and retelling text with or without generative training. Pretesting and posttesting indicated that reading and retelling promoted incidental vocabulary…

Discusses next generation distance education systems, which include research in cognitive science, systems science, and communication theory to provide a learning environment with student autonomy congruent to prior learning, learning objectives, and content materials to be mastered. Describes Advanced Distributed Learning (ADL), object…