Exposure of an experimental group of (n=33) college freshmen to teaching experiments dealing with stoichiometry problems based on the concept of limiting reagent showed greater improvement in posttests than the (n=39) student control group and observed that some students protect their core beliefs by ignoring conflicting data. (Author/MKR)

Studies the effects of visual elaborations on the cognitive processes of adult learners. Compares the effects of two types of visual elaboration strategies on immediate and delayed recall. Suggests that the incorporation of visual elaboration strategies produces a greater depth of processing, leading to better recall. (HB)

Elementary children (n=112) comprising average IQ, high IQ, dyslexic, and normal readers were administered measures of planning, attention-arousal, simultaneous and successive processing, phonemic segmentation, and nonverbal IQ. Cognitive tasks differentiating dyslexic from normal readers were the successive processing tasks and two tasks of…

In a study of language anxiety, a video camera was introduced at various points in a vocabulary learning task. Observations of first-year university students of French revealed significant increases in anxiety when the camera was introduced, along with concomitant deficits in vocabulary acquisition. Implications for remedial action are discussed.…

Interprets the outdoor-education learning process from viewpoint of pragmatist and cognitive conceptions of action, thinking, and knowledge as ways of structuring reality. Views outdoor education as socially organized, intentional activity aimed at student-environment interaction. Presents a model of outdoor learning involving goal-oriented…

Learning place geography is an important part of school geography. Reports on research findings addressing effective ways to teach place geography. Finds that research indicates significant differences between mnemonic and non-mnemonic treatment groups. (CFR)

Reciprocal teaching is an instructional procedure designed to teach students cognitive strategies that might result in improved reading comprehension. This review of 16 quantitative studies generally supports the efficacy of reciprocal teaching but also indicates the need for further research into cognitive strategy instruction. (SLD)

Examines the knowledge construction processes of novice programmers using parentheses and quotes in hypermedia; identifies characteristics of successful and unsuccessful students working off- and on-line. The strategies of perceptual matching and computer feedback were used in both settings to interpret of the information presented. (Author/AEF)

Describes a longitudinal constructivist teaching experiment analyzing children's ways of operating while solving fraction tasks. A case study of one third grader found that the evolution of her fraction schemes was the product of her cognitive activity and her collaborative interaction with the teacher. (42 references) (Author/MKR)

Describes a writing instruction project called the "landmark method" that fosters writing skills in students with learning disabilities. Outlines specific strategies that have proven effective in teaching writing to students with dyslexia or other learning disabilities. (HB)

Differences in how more and less successful readers use selective attention, and whether these differences influence what is learned and recalled were studied with 45 college students. Results reveal different reading patterns for the two groups. The discussion focuses on aspects of the selective attention strategy. (SLD)

First-semester grades positively effected the extent to which favorable self-concept influenced persistence in college for over 1,000 undergraduates. No significant associations were found between initial grades and changes in persistence-relevant preferences. Associations between grades and personal norms were measure-dependent. (SLD)

Investigated the factor structure of a battery of tasks hypothesized to measure the constructs of the planning, attention, and simultaneous-successive (PASS) process model of human cognition. Results suggest that the original PASS model provides an improper factor solution. Recommends further refinement of the PASS theory or tests. (RJM)

Examines the need to match teaching processes to cognitive aspects of learning and motivational dynamics of learners within the context of computer assisted instruction (CAI). Discusses how theories and empirical findings of research on motivation can be integrated in a formal model in order to describe and predict motivation within the framework…

Presents a human-computer interaction (HCI) conceptions model designed to help in the understanding of the cognitive processes involved when college students learn to program computers. Examines syntactic and algorithmic HCI operational errors and reviews conceptions based on natural language reasoning, independent computer reasoning, and…