A comparison of the performance of children (ages 6-12) with visual impairments (n=15) and sighted children (n=15) on two tasks involving inferences found some differences between the two groups when the information was visual, but not when it was nonvisual. Visual impairment affected some aspects of a word association task. (Contains references.)…

Describes advantages and disadvantages of time-line interviewing and inductive content analysis for studying information users' cognitive behaviors. Uses examples from a study of users' criteria for their relevance judgments in a multimedia information environment and discusses reliability, validity, and future directions. (Author/LRW)

Presents a test of the limits of the Johnstone--El-Banna model of problem solving as related to students' responses to organic-synthesis problems. Finds that the predicted pattern was observed in both samples, although the model was more useful for students without previous problem-solving training and for field-independent and field-intermediate…

Advises new science teachers and lists Gardner's multiple intelligences and strategies for learning. Recommends providing a safe learning environment for students. (YDS)

Uses a cognitive motivation approach to view students' learning on Web-based instruction (WBI). Introduces the new CANE Model as a means for diagnosing motivation problems. Presents one WBI class at a teacher education institution in Taiwan as a case study to illustrate the process of how to diagnose motivation problems and find appropriate…

Discusses the factors that seem to be significant in the development of visualization skills, and examines gender differences in background and visualization ability for students enrolled in United States, German, and Polish technical universities. Findings indicate significant differences in spatial visualization ability between male and female…

Explores the idea that play is one of the fundamental processes by which children develop their understanding of the world by looking at play as an intrinsically motivated activity. (WRM)

To examine how four methods of symbolizing data affect learning from thematic maps of familiar regions, two experiments were conducted with college students. In both experiments, map-related text information was recalled more than map-unrelated text information. Choropleth maps and proportional symbol maps were associated with higher reported use…

Explores the significance of concept mapping for education and curriculum development. Discusses two main streams in curriculum paradigms and important processes, and the functions which concept mapping can have in education and curriculum development. Examines why students in educational institutions don't yet make systematic use of concept maps,…

Shows that the construction of mental representations that capture a situation based on the comprehension of a diagram are mediated by the possession of appropriate background knowledge. Indicates that background knowledge deficiencies may make it difficult for beginning students of a domain to construct suitable mental representations from…

The cognitive play of 13 preschool children with visual impairments was observed while the children played alone in their homes. Findings revealed that over half of the play behaviors were in the category of exploration and sensorimotor play, and symbolic play accounted for less than 4% of play. (Author/CR)

In four experiments involving 357 undergraduates, students who read expository passages with seductive details (interesting but irrelevant details) recalled fewer main ideas and generated fewer problem-solving transfer solutions than those who read passages without seductive details. Results suggest that seductive details may prime inappropriate…

Student profiles generated from knowledge, interest, and strategy measures were studied and changes in profiles across a semester were studied for 329 college students. There were three distinct groups of students at pretest and four at posttest. The Learning-Oriented cluster remained fairly constant from pretest to posttest. (SLD)

Describes the Science Concept-Vocabulary Acquisition (SCVA) model which promotes simultaneous cognitive construction of science concepts and the scientific nomenclature needed to understand and communicate those concepts. Contains 19 references. (DDR)

Claims that participants in computer-mediated "chat" (CMC) produce a kind of hybrid text. Stresses the importance of investigating the individual texts and writing practices of each participant in CMC studies to better understand what occurs when language users bring individual cognitive, social, and contextual factors with them to a…