Forty-three preschool children with language, behavioral, and learning difficulties were administered the Children's Analogical Thinking Modifiability Test, which uses a test-teach-test approach. The group receiving difficulty-contingent, individualized instruction (referred to as mediation) performed significantly better on the posttest, while…

Investigated the range and limits of cognitive reserve capacity as a general approach to the understanding of age differences in cognitive functioning. Group differences were magnified by training to such a degree that age distributions barely overlapped at posttests. The testing-the-limits approach promises increased understanding of cognitive…

A study investigated the effects of an instructional design based on schema theory and of concept organizers on presentation of technical concepts and skill acquisition and retention in four secondary industrial arts classes. Pretest posttest and criterion-referenced test results suggested that concept organizers and schema-organized presentations…

Describes a study of undergraduates that was designed to assess the independent and interactive effects of emotional arousal and emotional valence on viewers' cognitive capacity and memory for television messages. Highlights include emotional processing and memory, emotion and cognitive capacity, pretests and posttests, and hypotheses tested.…

Students in three fifth grade classes were pretested on identification and correction of errors in written composition. Instruction on revision was provided to instructional groups differing only in tools used for editing: paper and pencil, word processing, or a combination. Attitude questionnaire and posttest results indicated less positive…

Undergraduates in a computer literacy class were pretested on analogical reasoning skills. One section then received LOGO programing instruction, and the other section received nonprograming instruction on computer uses in education. Posttest results indicated that analogical reasoning skills development is a consequence of LOGO programing and…

Discussion of children's comprehension of television focuses on a study in the United Kingdom that examined whether a successful course of television literacy could be developed for use with students from 5 to 12 years old. Treatments of experimental and control groups are explained, and correlations to other media are examined. (29 references)…

Effects of social facilitation and equilibriation were examined for 80 third and fourth graders working under interdependent, coactive, or individualized conditions to complete high and low complexity computer tasks. Results indicate that interdependent and coactive conditions are not detrimental to performance but do not enhance individualized…

Discusses computer-based learning environments and presents results of empirical research on ESL (English-as-a-Second-Language) college students' work within a learning environment designed to help with elements of grammar. Topics addressed include illocutionary versus nonillocutionary natural language learning environments and correlations…

Describes a study of high school students that investigated the impact of embedding an instructional map into hypermedia courseware on student achievement. Treatment of experimental and control groups is described, results of pretests and posttests are compared, and implications for software designers and teachers are suggested. (Contains 23…

Discusses the use of microcomputer applications software in education, reviews the literature involving studies on the development of problem-solving skills and on the instructional use of spreadsheets, and describes a project for secondary school students using spreadsheets that provides cognitive support. (Contains 35 references.) (LRW)

Discusses the need for adequate student user manuals for computer software and presents guidelines to help teachers develop these manuals. The sections that a student manual should contain are outlined, including objectives, pretests and posttests for self-evaluation, and worksheets; and examples are given for further clarification. (LRW)

Effects on achievement of generating summaries or analogies while reading a lengthy text were studied for 111 undergraduate students randomly assigned to paired or individual conditions. Posttest results were higher for those who generated summaries, and students scored more highly working alone. Implications are discussed. (SLD)

Education majors (n=61) took General Special Education Programming in various concentrated time formats. Those in 2- and 3-week formats made greater gains than those in 5- and 15-week formats, and all indicated that they learned as much or more as in regular-format teacher education courses. (SLD)

Examined the differential effects of two instructional strategies (explicit schema-based and traditional-based) on the acquisition, maintenance, and generalization of mathematical word problem solving among elementary students at risk or with mild disabilities. Pretesting and posttesting indicated that both groups' performance increased from…