The use of predictable and unpredictable trial sequences during small-group instruction was evaluated in teaching word and abbreviation identification to 4 students (age 8-10) with learning disabilities. No consistent effects of the trial presentation methods were found across 3 investigations, which involved progressive time-delay procedures and…

There is strong evidence that massed practice depresses performance and learning when learning is assessed by absolute retention measures. This finding is discussed relative to other literature on distribution of practice as well as recent issues in motor learning. (JD)

Nine articles in this festschrift for Herbert Goldhor explore relatively new and innovative approaches to problem solving in libraries. The articles identify and discuss methods and techniques of applied and evaluative research, consider conceptual and practical issues related to problem solving in libraries, and recognize Goldhor's many…

Findings of two experiments involving third and fifth graders indicated that subjects' confidence in the correctness of their solutions to verbal tasks influenced the frequency and type of help they sought. Frequency and type of help sought varied with self-assessments for older children more than younger. (RH)

Two studies involving 203 and 107 high school students investigated the relationship between adolescent efforts to achieve several academic and non-academic classroom goals, social and task-related standards for performance, and academic achievement. Motivation to achieve socially prescribed and cognitive outcomes was found to be relevant to…

The relationship between knowing that organization during study will facilitate performance (metamemory) and grouping pictures by semantic category was examined in a free recall task for 60 first-graders and 48 fourth-graders. Results suggest that how and when reflective activity occurs may be crucial for learning effectiveness. (SLD)

Results of five experiments showed that in certain situations recall varied with processing difficulty for both children and college students. This was primarily due to enhanced cue discriminability. The relation between processing difficulty and developmental increases in recall seemed to be mediated by constructability problems and resource- and…

Examined the role of individual differences in working memory and lexical access in age- and reading skill-related differences in performance on phonological synthesis tasks. The performance of 28 kindergarten, first-, and second-grade students with normal reading skills, and that of 28 reading-disabled second graders, was compared under four…

A 4-year study of 131 preschool children with severe/profound hearing losses found that children tended to be placed first in auditory/oral programs and later moved to total communication programs. Evaluated are the performance of children in both types of programs on measures of spoken language, receptive language, and mother-child communication.…

Examined were the effects of reversing the color of stimulus materials used to teach survival vocabulary to 16 spastic cerebral palsied and 16 other multihandicapped adolescents with mental retardation. Compared to black-on-white cards, white-on-black cards improved the acquisition performance of both groups, but did not affect retention.…

Describes students' reactions to questions on essay tests. Examines relationships in attitudes and essay questions, the effects of readability on student attitudes, and the effects of question length and rhetorical structure. Concludes that certain rhetorical features of essay questions affect how students respond on tests. (KEH)

Investigated the range and limits of cognitive reserve capacity as a general approach to the understanding of age differences in cognitive functioning. Group differences were magnified by training to such a degree that age distributions barely overlapped at posttests. The testing-the-limits approach promises increased understanding of cognitive…

Examines teachers' evaluations by principals over a 10-year period to compare criteria used and determine whether movement toward research-based criteria exists. Finds evaluations to be neither professional nor bureaucratic, but rather serving ritualistic purposes of little help to teachers' professional improvement or to personnel decision…

Discusses the role of teacher achievement and recognition in job satisfaction, and describes a mini-grant incentive model that offers teachers opportunities and incentives for achievement and recognition through increased responsibilities and expanded opportunities for development. The application process, implementation phase, and evaluation…

Twenty prelingually deaf students, aged six-eight, were able to identify words better when presented in a print-plus-graphic-sign condition compared to a print-only condition. The initial use of the graphic representation of signs with the printed words also facilitated the children's immediate retention when reading the printed word only.…