In response to S. A. Cohen's paper on research problems in learning disabilities the author agrees on the need for better definitions and more experimental studies (rather than ex post facto correlational studies) but suggests that subgroups within the broad classification of learning disabilities be identified for research and instructional…

In his attempt to broaden the range of research concerns for educational historians, author explored the meanings of education as it contributed to the making of the American character. (Editor/RK)

A typology of work groups is created and the impact of five organizational development interventions on types of work groups is compared to determine the positive and negative effects. Interventions have differential effects on the various work group types. (Author/IRT)

Labeling exceptional children can be beneficial in that it can lead to differentiated treatment, give more insight into etiology and prevention, and call public attention to a specific problem; however, it can be used to preserve a social hierarchy by keeping minority group children from opportunities and delay needed social reform. (Author/IM)

Picture-grouping and word-association tasks were used to evaluate the hypothesis that paradigmatic (same form class) word associates are not always categorical and may be a function of the child's understanding of interactive and categorical relations. (SB)

Suggests some difficulties and challenges in understanding and teaching Piaget's new theory. Outlines some differences between Piaget's new and standard theories, such as the diminished status of the emergent skills that mark the onset of concrete operational thinking and the perception of achievements in concrete operations as empirical…

Classified children's use of cognitive strategies on a multitrial sort-recall task. Compared to fourth graders, more second and third graders were classified utilizationally deficient; fourth graders were more likely to be classified as quasi-utilizationally deficient. Levels of recall and clustering were higher for younger utilizationally…

Three experiments investigated 14-month olds' capacity for superordinate-level inductions, using animal and vehicle domains. Found that infants did generalize properties in these domains, and that their inductions were more influenced by conceptual category than by perceptual similarity. (HTH)

Better taxonomic classification is a necessary step in developing the theoretical base of instructional technology (IT). Discusses traditional concepts of theory development and application to IT: roles, levels, criteria and types of theory; taxonomic theory: classifications, domains, and taxonomies; taxonomic classification principles, schema,…

H. H. Chang and W. F. Stout (1993) presented a derivation of the asymptotic posterior normality of the latent trait given examinee responses under nonrestrictive nonparametric assumptions for dichotomous item response (IRT) theory models. This paper presents an extension of their results to polytomous IRT models and defines a global information…

Notes that in phonetic categorization, listeners hear a range of speech sounds forming a continuum of ambiguous sounds between two endpoints and are required to identify the sounds as one or other of the endpoints. Points out that this task has been used in phonetics and in psycholinguistics to study categorical perception, selective adaptation,…

A sample of 9173 noninstitutionalized youth who took the 1980 Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) was divided into five ability levels. Analysis supports the assertion that cognitive abilities are less correlated in higher ability groups and implies that greater classification effects can be associated with more intelligent groups.…

This study examined intrajudge and interjudge agreement for the Lidcombe Behavioral Data Language (LBDL), a behaviorally based stuttering taxonomy. Ten experienced speech language pathologists and 10 undergraduates applied the LBDL to stuttered speech on two occasions. Intrajudge agreement was high for both groups, but only the experienced judges…

Explores the possibility of adding user-oriented class associations to hierarchical library classification schemes. Analyses a log of book circulation records from a university library in Taiwan and shows that classification schemes can be made more adaptable by analyzing circulation patterns of similar users. (Author/LRW)