Acknowledging a recent increased interest in research about self-directed learning, this report analyzes and discusses two different forms of education: self-directed learning and distance education. Here, self-directed learning is identical with autodidactic learning, a form of education that cannot be included in organized adult education; the…

This document focuses on evidence from problem solving case studies which indicate that analogy, extreme case analogies, and physical intuition can play an important role as forms of nonformal reasoning in scientific thinking. Two examples of nonformal reasoning are examined in greater detail from 10 case studies of "expert" problem solving.…

This paper outlines the components of initial cognitive skill acquisition and analyses features of elaborations in the instructional materials that can facilitate each component. Three basic components of skill learning are identified: (1) learning novel concepts and the functionality of novel concepts and procedures; (2) learning how to execute…

This paper describes further research on a learning procedure for layered networks of deterministic, neuron-like units, described by Rumelhart et al. The units, the way they are connected, the learning procedure, and the extension to iterative networks are presented. In one experiment, a network learns a set of filters, enabling it to discriminate…

The functions of blocking text with horizontal rules and providing headings of different types are discussed. Headings may be encoded or function as access structures, while blocking segments text and provides retrieval cues. These issues were tested in two experiments. College students read a 2000-word passage. In the first experiment, no…

The question of whether performance measures may be more accurate than examination methods to assess an individual's abilities and knowledge is examined, based on a literature review. An information processing view that focuses on the internal activities of thinking and the relationship to external stimuli is considered. Information processing…

Three workshops conducted by consultants will help faculty members at Midway College in Lexington, Kentucky, incorporate effective writing instruction in the content areas. The first workshop will stress the importance of reading and writing to the learning process and provide concrete exercises that demonstrate how writing can be used to generate…

A study of 103 second, third, and fourth grade students investigated relationships among cognitive styles and reading comprehension. Each subject was individually tested using four different instruments to assess four cognitive styles: (1) field-independence/dependence (ability to locate a simple figure--concept--hidden in a complex field), (2)…

The study, involving 53 students from the National Technical Institute for the Deaf, investigated the relevance of certain aptitude-by-treatment interaction findings with normally hearing students to the instruction of hearing impaired students. Instructional variables investigated were classroom structure and student participation. Student…

The first of a series providing reviews, syntheses (empirical and rhetorical), and reports of reading research, the chapters in this volume treat the question, "What does a child have to know (or be able to do) in order to learn to read?" The book begins with an in-depth logical analysis in historical perspective of the concept of reading…

In a study to explore cognitive growth related to repeated listening to a story, the following questions were considered: (1) Do first grade students' recall ability and comprehension improve with repeated oral retellings of a story? (2) Is the students' recall ability related to their comprehension ability? and (3) Do the patterns of recall…

Intended for those who want to understand the nature of listening in the communication process and for students who wish to understand and improve their own behaviors as listeners, this book draws upon theory and research in the field of listening as well as from a variety of other disciplines. The 10 chapters of the book discuss the following…

A study was undertaken to investigate the variation in the speech of child second language learners as a function of the different discourse constraints imposed by three participant structures: narrator-audience, child-adult conversation, and child-child conversation. The subjects were 18 children aged 7 to 12, temporary residents in the United…

Researchers are concluding that high school and college students do not have a well-balanced repertoire of effective independent learning strategies. Another line of research has focused upon the question of the "process" or the "how" underlying such learning strategies. Three insights from this research are pertinent to developmental educators.…

The technical reports summarized in this paper were prepared as part of a project designed to determine what is known about the teaching of cognitive skills and to formulate questions relating to such teaching for further research. Topics discussed in the 22 reports include the following: (1) teaching thinking; (2) Aristotle's logic; (3) a…