The effects of specific directions on the reading comprehension of sixth-grade students were investigated. Two passages on different topics, each with 20 percent of the sentences relevant to the topic, were materials for two informal tests administered to 92 six-grade students. Half of the students were given specific directions to learn about the…

A series of papers will be written to review in a comprehensive fashion the literature related to 3 categories of variables in concept learning: task variables, stimulus variables, and learner variables. This paper, the first of the series, focuses on task variables. Research dealing with instructions, temporal factors, and feedback is critically…

Three studies investigated some variables involved in the psychological processes related to instruction. One study looked at the influence of notetaking, length of the listening-study interval, and thematic organization of the lecture on recall. It found that more ideas were recalled when notes were taken than when notetaking was not permitted…

The major concerns of this paper are the varying ways of approaching, diagnosing and solving the problems besetting education as a result of the rapid technological and social changes which uniquely characterize our own day. Three chapters address various aspects of thinking and of education. The first proposes a definition of the educational…

Two issues inhibit full utilization of computer-assisted instruction (CAI). The first of these issues concerns authorship of CAI programs. Should it be left with classroom teachers or given to specially trained instructional design teams? The latter approach is preferable for "mainline" systems (those systems that are specifically designed to…

In order to apply appropriate modes of instruction based on readers' learning characteristics, including modality preferences, the diagnostician must evaluate the reading abilities of the individual pupil on tests of word recognition, psycholinguistic abilities, and learning modes. The Dolch Basic Word Test is a tool for evaluating word…

Three generic types of information processing (IP) models are considered in this paper. They are: the General Problem Solver, developed by Simon; interactive natural language models exemplified by the work of Weizenbaum, and the quantitative instructional models developed by Atkinson. These were selected primarily because of their potential for…

Nineteen papers reviewed the major works published during the most recent four years in the field of psychology. Most of the publications reviewed were American, but due to the stated concern with international coverage, the volume began a series of chapters on psychological research in other countries. Topics reviewed were developmental…

Reported is a study on the measurement of concept attainment for the purpose of developing a measuring system and a model of attainment abilities and establishing relationships between learned concepts and cognitive abilities. Thirty concepts, ten for each of the biological, earth, and physical science areas, were selected from six fourth grade…

The Analytical Review Project, conducted by UCLA's Center for the Study of Evaluation under the auspices of the U.S. Office of Education, evaluated 20 major longitudinal studies of the impact of schools and colleges on students' cognitive, personal, and vocational development. This project included a critical appraisal of the methodology used in…

An internal/external efficiency evaluation on the economic implications of mastery learning is presented. Two important aspects of mastery learning are: (1) its intrinsic worth regardless of economic benefits, and (2) the necessary changes in the social and economic structure that will make the mastery learning approach increasingly functional. It…

This study is an attempt to identify one source of individual differences in the extent to which readers learn from text and the means for accommodating it. Eighty college students were administered a series of aptitude tests and randomly assigned to one of four treatment groups. The subjects then received six passages, each passage followed by a…

Research on Trait by Treatment Interaction must become more coordinated. It should include systematic programs by individual investigators as well as those among investigators. Important factors to consider are (1) developing a clearer definition of traits which will include availability and preference as well as aptitude and ability in both the…

As a supplement to the principal reports, basic revision guidelines, philosophy, and procedures are discussed in this document relating to the U. S. Naval Academy Self-Paced Physics Course. Following a brief course description, analyses are made of the rationale for revision activities, study guide alteration, and content, objective, format, and…

The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the feasibility of applying research variables for concept acquisition into a generalized instructional model for teaching concepts. This paper does not present the methodology for the decision/selection stages in designing the actual instruction task, but offers references to other sources which give…