In experiments with seven- to ten-year-old children, mismatched pictures increased learning of prose that was heard and prose that was read. Presence of pictures mismatched to prose they accompanied had little negative impact on cued recall. Twenty-seven references are provided. (Author)

This replication of research on the development of strategies for studying texts showed that Papua New Guinean university students made the same discrimination between linguistic units of a prose passage as did the original American sample. Intentional study instructions and provision of extended study time, however, had minimal effect on recall…

Examines the effect that systematic loading of story presentations with criterion information has on recall of abstract and concrete prose. Results indicate oral plus picture presentations were most effective. Also, loading additional detail into visual presentations resulted in greater recall and provided greater supplementary effect to oral…

Two experiments examined the effects of embedded and intact (outline) headings on the processing of complex text material by college students. Results indicated that embedded headings reliably improved delayed test performance. It was further found that instructions in the use of headings as processing aids facilitated test performance. (Author/PN)

Field-independent and dependent students read or took notes on a logically organized or scrambed article. Field-independent students scored better than field-dependent students on items of high structural importance to the meaning of the passage. Cognitive style effects on material of low structural importance were not significant. (Author/RD)

Examines the "levels effect" (the theory that more important text elements are more likely to be remembered than less important elements) in children and adults when reading expository text. Finds differences between adults and children in the extent to which they engaged in the type of processing that resulted in levels effects. (MG)

The effects of pictorial illustrations on memory for text were studied in 144 college students. Two experiments indicated that illustrations serve a supplementary function; adjunct pictures alone, without special processing instructions, do not help learners encode information that is not normally encoded in the first place. (SLD)

Adolescents with deafness or partial hearing were assessed on memory for relational and distinctive information when text structure and material concreteness were manipulated. Deaf and hard-of-hearing readers were less likely than hearing readers to integrate text information across idea units, although they may retain as much information from…

Background: Research indicates that the use of mental imagery is a rich source of possibilities for improving learning in participants with learning disabilities and intellectual disability. Method: We undertook two experiments designed to assess the effectiveness of using imagery in prose learning for participants with Down syndrome (DS). The…

Over the years, substantial shifts in theory, belief, and practice have occurred in the teaching of language, specifically vocabulary, grammar, or their combination in lexicogrammatical features of a language as part of the writing class or curriculum (Paltridge, 2004; Reid, 1993, 2006). Much of the instruction in L2 writing for adult learners who…

This paper discusses parody as an effective pedagogical device and as a way of teaching recognition of, and appreciation for, form. If the subject parodied is in poetic form, then rhyme and rhythm become factors for the parodist to consider. If the subject parodied is in prose, then the parodist must address the techniques of narrative,…

The YALA journal is an annual publication of the Young Adult Learning Academy (YALA) in New York City, New York. This journal, one of many YALA publications and projects, was designed to encourage students to assume active roles in their education and to present their ideas, feelings, and craft to others. The YALA was established in 1984 to…

A total of 121 third and fourth graders were randomly assigned to instructional treatments which each featured a short children's story. The treatments were oral-only, picture-only, and a combination of oral and pictures. Students saw and/or heard the presentation and were tested immediately and after a two-week retention interval for recall of…

Geographic displacement as spiritual desolation is a theme that bonds Puerto Rican and Chicano literature. The movement of masses of people to the United States and within the United States itself has had and continues to have severe consequences for the Latino population in this country. Two novels, "Down These Mean Streets" by Piri…

This paper develops the thesis that the knowledge a person possesses has a potent influence on what he or she will learn and remember from exposure to discourse. After outlining some assumptions about the characteristics of the structures (schemata) in which existing knowledge is packaged, a theory of the processes involved in assimilating the…