The study examined the potential of training in a specific learning strategy (text structure recognition and use) to improve the recall of expository prose of 27 learning disabled high school students. Trained subjects demonstrated better immediate and delayed recall performance than control subjects trained in problem solving strategies.…

Effects of two types of memory strategy instruction--mnemonic or directed rehearsal--on the vocabulary acquisition of 60 seventh and eighth grade learning disabled students were compared. Among results were that subjects instructed in the mnemonic method significantly outperformed subjects instructed in the direct rehearsal strategy. (Author/DB)

The study examined the use of advance organizers by seven regular secondary teachers with seven learning disabled students. Advance organizers did positively affect students' retention of information, but only after students were taught to attend to and use the advance organizers. (Author/DB)

The use of visual phonics can help beginning readers or reading-disabled students overcome difficulties in word learning. The technique enhances the ability to identify grapheme-phoneme correspondences (usually appearing in the middle of words and useful for decoding) and prompts the learner to generalize these correspondences from one word to…

Discusses R. Slavin's best-evidence synthesis method as an alternative to traditional meta-analysis and review techniques. Explains the inherent weaknesses of the technique Slavin uses and how the techniques can be misused. (RB)

Proposes that elementary education students can be helped to understand invented spelling by encouraging them to think about the strategies children are using in learning to spell. Suggests aims to which teacher preparation courses should aspire. (JAD)

Examines the potential of concept mapping as a learning strategy to be used with children in kindergarten through fifth grade. Concept mapping was found to increase children's ability to organize and represent their thoughts. Teaching strategies are suggested. (BB)

Discusses the value of using narrative structures in college-level psychology instruction. States that the organization imposed by such a structure may become a key factor in learning and retention. Concludes that undergraduates prefer the narrative mode and consider it more enjoyable and more useful for learning. (Author/GEA)

Research conducted between 1975-85 on cognitive styles, cognitive development, cognitive strategies, and social and emotional factors associated with the academic setting was reviewed to determine differences between gifted and nongifted learners. Significant differences were found in all four areas. (Author/CB)

Proposes a method for teaching essay revision in introductory composition courses based on using, as an analogue, the way in which a painter moves from sketch to completed painting. Reports on and generalizes from classroom experiments which used the visual arts to teach students to revise. (JDH)

Offers information on and examples of the Cognitive Research Trust (CoRT) Thinking Program, internationally the most widely used program for the teaching of thinking as part of the school curriculum. Describes various CoRT tools, including one in which students list the pluses, minuses, and interesting points about a given issue. (DMM)

The many advantages of inquiry learning offset the disadvantages of slow content coverage. Inquiry learning is described and the teacher's role is examined. (MT)

In two experiments, the importance of mnemonic illustrations for improving the learning and memory performance of learning disabled adolescents was studied. Results showed that students learned more when they studied passages with mnemonic pictures and that mnemonic instruction facilitated students ability to make inferences about information…

Discusses the recent rise in interest in the teaching of thinking skills. Presents brief outlines of eight school districts' successful thinking skills programs. All these programs were developed through careful attention to time and training and with an understanding that success is based on a long-term plan of action. (MD)

Among ways suggested for teaching problem solving strategies are to select problem situations appropriate to the learner and to encourage learning from errors. A problem solving process which can be used with young children includes the components of formulation; interpretation; generation; decision making; implementation; evaluation; and…