Describes a study to determine middle school children's representational strategies to form part-whole or part-part relationships for relational numbers such as proportions, ratios, or fractions. Quantitative and qualitative analysis revealed that children prefer a part-part representation to solve relational quantity problems. (15 references)…

Discusses how students construct mental images that aid estimation skills in the measurement of angles. Reports research identifying four strategies that students use to estimate sizes of angles. Strategies include utilization of the mental images of (1) a protractor; (2) a right angle; (3) a half-turn; and (4) angles of a polygon. (MDH)

The construct validity of the holistic-analytic continuum in information processing strategies was generally supported by an evaluation of the following instruments: (1) the Inventory of Learning Processes; (2) the Human Information Processing Survey; (3) the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator; and (4) the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire. Subjects were…

Examines the sensitivity of second-language (L2) working memory (ability to store and process information simultaneously) to differences in reading skills among advanced L2 learners. Subjects with larger L2 working memory capacities scored higher on measures of L2 reading skills, but no correlation was found between reading and passive short-term…

Presents a problem solving strategy developed by a second grade student that goes beyond modeling an intuitive or informal interpretation of an operation to solve division problems. Concludes that good teaching should build on pupil's existing preinstruction knowledge and recognize a pupil's attempts at creative solutions. (MDH)

Thirty young and 10 elderly adults were assessed on orienting auditory attention, in a mixed-modal condition in which stimuli were either auditory or visual. Findings suggest that the mechanisms involved in orienting attention operate in audition and that individuals may allocate their processing resources among multiple sensory pools. (Author/JDD)

The order of acquisition of a set of linguistic structures and the relationship between structures were examined over 5 years in 28 language-impaired children (age 4) and 32 language-matched normal children. Results demonstrated a marked similarity between groups, suggesting that the linguistic impairments may be principally processing, not…

Analysis of data on children's ideas about seeing and light is reported. Analysis is theoretically informed by Piagetian stage theory of genetic epistemology. Data produced by other researchers have been recoded to enable quantitative comparisons to be made with the survey data reported by Shayer and Adey (1981). Patterns in the data exposed by…

Using a paper-and-pencil test consisting of multiple-choice situational questions which also require reasoning for the choices made, common misconceptions in light were identified. It was found that most of the students understand the basic properties of light at a knowledge level but had difficulty applying these concepts in novel situations.…

This study of 94 college undergraduates, including 24 with a reading disability, found that speech perception was strongly related to 3 of 4 phonological variables, including short-term and long-term auditory memory and phoneme segmentation, which were in turn strongly related to reading. Nonverbal temporal processing was not related to any…

Studied representation of text content and representation of the surface form of the text in two studies of native French speakers. Twenty-five subjects (aged 23-30) participated in Experiment 1, and 40 subjects (aged 23-30) participated in Experiment 2. Data confirm that readers retain the spatial location of words read. (Contains 18 references.)…

A discussion of academic dishonesty among college students reviews research on cheating, then assesses dominant cognitive processes students use to rationalize cheating in one college and compares findings with previous studies. Faculty and administrators are encouraged to challenge student accounts of cheating and other questionable conduct found…

Reviews basic ideas presented in this special issue on the evolution of behaviorism. Topics addressed include stimulus and response; research with animals; applications to education and training; human motivation; theory through computer programs; experimental analysis of behavior; behaviorism moving into other disciplines; cognitive…

Discusses strategies for integrating the teaching of language with academic subject matter to help English-as-a-Second-Language students. Advocates the Cognitive Academic Language Learning Approach (CALLA) as a successful method that can be applied to either specialist ESL or mainstream classes. (HB)

Examines research literature and schematic models associated with the expert-novice model in cognitive psychology. Describes a model for rendering expertise in problem solving within economics. Reports that a preliminary study indicates that this model effectively rendered both expert and novice problem solving in economics. (CFR)