Noting that one means of better understanding the nature of cultural differences is to elucidate the cognitive differences between members of differing cultures, this paper examines Alexander Luria's sociohistorical theory of functional cognitive systems. The paper first describes Luria's notion of functional systems, the crux of which postulates…

A U.S. Air Force study was designed to investigate simultaneously four cognitive styles--field dependence-independence, reflectivity-impulsivity, leveling-sharpening, and visual-haptics. A sample of 206 undergraduate volunteers at the University of Oklahoma were tested with the Successive Perceptual Test I (SPT-I), the Hidden Figures Test (HFT),…

The effect of three levels of short-term memory (STM) and four learning modes (control, chunking organizational strategy, programmed instruction, and adjunct questions) on prose learning and recall was studied. The participants in this study were educational psychology students at Towson State College in Maryland. Significant STM and learning mode…

A review of literature related to rate of reading and auding, primarily in non-remedial high school and adult readers, is provided in this paper. After offering a definition of reading, a discussion of those studies which examine rates of reading and auding separately is provided with a summary of studies which directly relate rates of reading and…

Fifty-eight students (in grades 5 and 6) of average or near-average intelligence (who were reading 2 or more years below their normal expected level and who learned best through the auditory modality) took part in a study to evaluate the following areas: the effectiveness of two auditory highlighting procedures for increasing listening…

This curriculum is designed primarily for individualized classrooms where the teacher is working with an assistant, but has also been proven effective in traditional classrooms and in remedial situations. It is designed to test and teach children the basic abilities (readiness skills) assumed by the present primary-grade reading, writing,…

Literature is reviewed which discusses the role of proprioceptors in basic perceptual and motoric functions. The author cites research on the functions of the muscle spindles in controlling muscles which in turn provide energy, stimulation, and activation of the central nervous system. Research on the relation of motor functions to language…

The goal of the cassette pilot center at Clinton Elementary School, Minneapolis, Minn., is to develop a tape library that will improve instruction for children who learn better by simultaneous listening and viewing than by reading. To assess effects of the cassette program, two classes at Clinton which received considerable assistance with…

In six experiments subjects saw and pronounced, either aloud or silently, seven-item lists made from vocabularies of phonologically identical items. These materials were used to test the predictions of a precategorical and a postcategorical hypotheses for the modality effect in immediate memory. (Author/SW)

A literature search identified 39 studies assessing modality preferences and modality teaching. The studies, involving 3,087 disabled and nondisabled elementary/secondary level subjects, were quantitatively synthesized. Subjects receiving differential instruction based on modality preferences exhibited only modest gains. (Author/JDD)

Four severely/profoundly hearing-impaired preschool children (ages 4-5) were given six vocabulary tasks (receptive, associative, and expressive) involving auditory and visual sensory modalities. Data confirmed that lipreading (visual modality) could be substituted for speech. However, for novice lipreaders, words with auditory-visual confusions…

Summarizes the results of a project to make a class of learning disabled ninth graders aware of their individual learning styles. This seemed to increase their self-esteem and thus they worked according to their strengths and their grades improved. (NKA)

This paper explains and summarizes the results of a study that investigated the ways in which monozygotic (identical) and dizygotic (fraternal) twins learn. Their individual learning style elements were specifically investigated according to the Dunn and Dunn model. This paper discusses the themes, unique needs, and characteristics monozygotic…

This book offers guidelines for understanding the role and power of cognitive coaching to improve teacher effectiveness. Cognitive coaching is a nonjudgmental, developmental, and reflective model derived from a blend of the psychological orientations of cognitive theorists and the interpersonal bonding of humanists. Chapters are organized into…

During the last two decades learning communities, which are felt to have benefits that extend beyond students to faculty and the institution, have expanded to include many different models. This digest reviews five major higher education learning community models currently in existence: (1) Linked courses, which link cohorts of students taking two…