Describes a study that was designed to apply the learning hierarchy paradigm in an instructional unit in high school biology. Findings indicated that regardless of the pupils' sex or the type of school, students taught the hierarchically organized learning task achieved significantly higher than students whose learning task was not hierarchically…

Presents objections to the use of special-purpose computer languages for authoring courseware and recommends use of authoring procedures with a general-purpose language (in this case PASCAL). Highlights include problems in designing computer assisted instruction, developments in educational theory, a summary of modern authoring languages, and…

Investigates whether Universal Grammar (UG) is accessible to adult language learners. Advanced Korean adult acquirers of English were given a test of grammaticality judgements on English "wh-" sentences, where the relevant constraints are thought to derive from principles of UG. Clear UG effects were found. Sample instruction sheet given…

Links are drawn between text theories, both linguistic and semiotic, and the teaching of writing. Presents class activities designed to motivate students and teach good writing based on these theories. (MSE)

Examines Krashen's Monitor hypothesis (claiming that no interface exists between acquisition and learning) and finds it inadequate due to the over-restrictive conditions necessary for its use. Alternative acquisition theories and ways in which to monitor under less restrictive conditions are also examined, and a communicative trigger is proposed…

Explores the issue of the consistency of use of students' conceptions across different tasks which probed understandings of aspects of pressure, heat, and biological evolution. Findings indicate that children have alternative frameworks for all investigated areas. (ML)

Feuerstein's mediated learning theory was applied to a deaf population for investigating the cognitive modifiability of this population. The learning Potential Assessment Device (LPAD) was employed for determining transfer of learning along cognitive and behavioral dimensions. Results showed that the groups who received examiner mediation…

Studies in intellectual development, brain organization, and learning are summarized. They show that neither intelligence nor giftedness are solely the result of cognitive functions. Both rely on the use of the total brain in an appropriate environment. Intelligence is dynamic. It must be used and developed or it will be lost. (PS)

Examines the communication strategies adopted by people of differing ages attempting to perform a referential communication task and to determine their ability to adapt their strategies to various task conditions. (HOD)

Issues concerning psychology and education that were raised at the 1983 British Psychology Society Education Section Conference are discussed. With respect to teacher training courses, a major issue is whether only practical experience and reflection on the experience can make theoretical learning relevant and usable. (RM)

Studies in self-questioning designed to improve students' prose processing are reviewed in the context of three theoretical perspectives: active processing perspective, metacognitive theory, and schema theory. The effects of self-questioning training on students' prose processing seem successful. Constraints of content knowledge and metacognitive…

Raymond B. Cattell's research has produced many conceptual, methodological, measurement, and data analysis tools for identifying and studying interindividual differences and similarities in intraindividual change patterns. Additional Cattell contributions to lifespan developmental research include personality and ability concepts and their…

Addresses the question of the degree of importance which accuracy of form has for the second-language learner. Effective techniques for focusing on form and correcting errors are discussed. The techniques are based on a grid that matches learner variables and instructional variables. (SED)

Reports results of studies with an unsupervised learning paradigm called competitive learning which is examined using computer simulation and formal analysis. When competitive learning is applied to parallel networks of neuron-like elements, many potentially useful learning tasks can be accomplished. (Author)

Describes some of the current views in semantics and semantic development and discusses the implications for vocabulary instruction. Explains the major theories of word meaning acquisition in children and lists researched variables of word meaning development. Offers examples of instructional strategies for effective vocabulary development. (ML)