Surface and relational similarity were examined in two experiments involving isomorphic and nonisomorphic analogical transfer, using direct-mapping and cross-mapping conditions. In the first experiment, third and sixth graders exhibited mapping based on relational similarity more frequently than did kindergartners; in the second, most four- to…

Reviews research concerning instructional applications of discourse analysis for student reading and writing, including large-scale studies of student writing, text-based studies, reading comprehension, and semantic mapping. A large unannotated bibliography is included. (CB)

Spatial referencing in American Sign Language (ASL) functions at both the lexical and the discourse levels. In discourse, it can be used by a signer to produce cohesion in comparisons, performatives, and time mapping. The occurrence and function of spatial referencing in an ASL text as it produces cohesion is examined. (11 references) (Author/JL)

Researchers examined the effects of student-generated knowledge maps as a learning strategy. Eighty-one college students learned to make knowledge maps then participated in in-class and out-of-class testing sessions. Mapping positively affected their performance on recognition and recall tests, positive effects which were maintained. (SM)

Reviews research on how people use mental models of images in information retrieval. Discusses cognitive and social processes that give rise the visual models shaped by indexers and searchers. Examines the representation of objects and shapes in visual mental models and how both content-based and concept-based indexes capture aspects of these…

Do humans integrate experience on specific routes into metric survey knowledge of the environment, or do they depend on a simpler strategy of landmark navigation? The authors tested this question using a novel shortcut paradigm during walking in a virtual environment. The authors find that participants could not take successful shortcuts in a…

This document illustrates that mental functioning and communication in Catalan Sign Language (LSC) are conceptual through metaphorical projection of bodily experiences. The data in this document show how concepts are grasped, put on student's heads, exchanged, manipulated, and so on, constituting instantiations of the basic metaphors: ideas are…

Autism is a developmental disorder with possibly multiple pathophysiologies. It has been theorized that cortical feature maps in individuals with autism are inadequate for forming abstract codes and representations. Cortical feature maps make it possible to classify stimuli, such as phonemes of speech, disregarding incidental detail. Hierarchies…

This study investigated the constraints underlying developmental improvements in complex working memory span performance among 120 children of between 6 and 10 years of age. Independent measures of processing efficiency, storage capacity, rehearsal speed, and basic speed of processing were assessed to determine their contribution to age-related…

We recently described a critical role for adrenergic signaling in the hippocampus during contextual and spatial memory retrieval. To determine which neurons are activated by contextual memory retrieval and its sequelae in the presence and absence of adrenergic signaling, transcriptional imaging for the immediate-early gene "Arc" was used in…

Early studies of intuitive judgment and decision making conducted with the late Amos Tversky are reviewed in the context of two related concepts: an analysis of accessibility, the ease with which thoughts come to mind; a distinction between effortless intuition and deliberate reasoning. Intuitive thoughts, like percepts, are highly accessible.…

This study uses a cognitive mapping survey to examine the effect of Appalachian stereotypes on West Virginia high school students' residential preferences. The research addresses the popularly held hypothesis that West Virginia is suffering out-migration of its young people in part because of negative regional imagery. Survey results provide some…

Age-related differences (9- to 15-year-olds) in the neural correlates of mapping from phonology to orthography were examined with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Participants were asked to determine if two spoken words had the same spelling for the rime (corresponding letters after the first consonant or consonant cluster). Some of…

This study provides a clearer portrait of the extent to which practicing history and social studies teachers, who explicitly expressed an interest in the potential of technology and advocate the use of primary sources within their teaching, are using Internet technologies to prepare students to learn to think historically and in turn participate…

The paper addresses the way in which participants in a qualitative study drew upon accounts of relationships and emotions in sharing their perceptions of assessment. By first exploring ideas about emotions and relationships in learning and assessment through the literature and subsequently discussing an interpretation of participant narratives,…