The 11 chapters of this theme issue explore important issues that relate cognitive style to educational concerns. They link cognitive style with reading comprehension, parental teaching, family qualities, teaching, distance learning, strategic learning, socialization, and athletic performance. (SLD)

Reanalyzes pretest and posttest interviews from a large classroom study using a situated cognition framework. Concludes that cognition is a dynamic process that changes in different ways over shorter and longer time scales. Contains 40 references. (DDR)

Reports findings from a study that investigated the group interaction patterns of overseas Malaysian students in a British undergraduate program. Discusses the theoretical issues underlying the study. Findings and categories of idea framing, which arise from the analysis of group interaction data are highlighted. (Author/VWL)

Compared the processing of rapid auditory stimuli on two-tone auditory discrimination tasks by 7- to 11-year-olds with learning impairments (LI) and those without learning impairments (non-LI). Found that LI children committed more errors, but the effects of timing were comparable. Obtained same results with a sample of good and poor readers. Task…

Extended and tested Deutsch's theory of competition effects. Predicted that people view competitive situations as inherently more aggressive than cooperative ones. Predicted that leading people to think of an aggressive situation in competitive terms would increase aggressive behavior. Increase of kill ratio occurred in absence of changes in…

Participant observation study explored social interactions and friendships among cognitively impaired adult day-care participants. Found clients engage in a variety of social interactions and friendships, enabling them to maintain a sense of self and to adjust to group norms. Discussed general socializing, enduring friendships, helping…

The word-learning ability of 12 school-age subjects with moderate or severe mental retardation was assessed. Subjects used the System for Augmenting Language with visual-graphic symbols for communication. Ability to fast map novel symbols was found to relate to symbol achievement status. Implications for vocabulary acquisition by youth with mental…

Describes a study conducted with kindergartners and second graders that examined developmental differences in children's production and recall of information presented via a computer presentation. Highlights include children's information processing skills; action and verbal labels; story versus list formats; and production and recall scores.…

Computer-Supported Intentional Learning Environments (CSILE) is a database system in which learners collaboratively construct the knowledge represented in the database. This study examines how students in a grade-five and -six classroom built their database on a science topic, electricity. Differences in cognitive and operative activities between…

Suggests that while doubting that the dichotomy introduced by Subbotsky can cover the entire domain of motivation, he should applaud the emphasis on the neglected but critical importance of motivation in developmental psychology, and the attempt to distinguish different types of motivation, even as contributors to a single behavior. (AA)

This instructional design looks at momentum in physics through railroading, to assist students in developing appropriate mental models that will enable them to solve problems relevant to the process or principle being taught. A PEAnet (process, entity, activity network) relationship enables an instructional visualization (simulation) in which…

Proposes that the unique features of electronic text can interact with the special skills, abilities, and diverse experiences of English language learners to help us better understand both the goals, processes, and special characteristics of the bilingual experience and the acquisition of electronic literacy skills. (Contains 29 references.)…

A study found cumulative decline in adaptive behavior and functional skills in 248 adults with Down syndrome increased from less than .04 at age 50, to .67 by 72, whereas decline for 398 adults with mental retardation increased from less than .02 at age 50 to .52 at 88. (Contains references.) (Author/CR)

A study investigated the operationalization, the identification, and the prevalence of weak central coherence and poor cognitive shifting in 35 high-functioning adolescents with autism. Weak central coherence and poor cognitive shifting did not appear to be related to measures of symptom severity, social understanding, and social competence.…

Fifth graders completed multiple choice exams and measures of cognitive style to determine whether changing answers was more frequent and productive for field independent or field dependent, reflective or impulsive, students. Impulsive students changed more answers and gained more points. Field dependence/field independence did not relate to…