The purpose of this study was to determine whether different types of practice strategies are equally effective in facilitating encoding strategies and in subsequent information acquisition and retrieval by students identified as possessing high, medium, and low prior knowledge levels in a content area. Within the context of the…

Responding to the Texas Education Agency's (TEA) "Essential Computing Competencies for Educators" (1983), the teacher's education program at Texas A&M University developed several computer literacy courses for its students. An evaluation was conducted of the first of these courses, "Microcomputer Literacy for Educators," to…

This paper considers the style and structure of broadcast educational television programs in relation to learning outcomes, and proposes a study to identify those key factors which intervene or affect this relationship. The types of structure examined include simple or complex and self-standing or integrated programs, and types of style include…

Demonstrates the usefulness of classroom assessment in reducing the number of underprepared students. Recommends that faculty use classroom assessment techniques very early in the semester to determine students' knowledge level. Maintains that a vast dichotomy exists between teachers' assumptions regarding students' knowledge and what they…

With the use of verbal report strategies, a study was conducted to examine (1) the types of comprehension strategies readers use to process familiar and less familiar texts and (2) the differential use of think aloud strategies by average and below average readers. Subjects were 15 tenth grade male students in upstate New York. Two weeks prior to…

This study investigated the relationship of the effects of library staff attitudes toward computer technology on their level of participation in a library computer literacy program. A series of in-service computer workshops at the University of Missouri-Columbia Libraries provided the opportunity to investigate computer anxiety among library…

Concept maps and structured/clinical interviews were completed by 25 fourth graders and 25 college freshmen to determine knowledge of the human circulatory system. Students (N=945) at various levels were then measured for misconception frequencies. Student preconceptions appear to be tenacious, but confrontation strategies may assist fundamental…

Examines the role of experience in the use of orthographic structure by good and poor sixth-grade readers. Results showed that poor sixth-grade readers used orthographic structure to speed their matching judgments just as effectively as good sixth-grade readers. (HOD)

Presents the results of a study suggesting that economic knowledge, whether measured by a general score or knowledge of a particular issue, is the most consistent and influential factor affecting public opinion. Surveyed a broad range of participants concerning five complex issues of economic policy. Includes questions, tables, and statistics.…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the extent to which problem analysis facilitated the subsequent processing of expository text, both for novices and a comparison group. A text on osmosis consisted of six-pages and was used as reading material. The ninth-grade students were considered novices because they were unfamiliar with the…

This study was designed to identify characteristics of college freshmen taking mathematics courses. Students enrolled in basic algebra courses at a regional campus of a large midwestern university participated in the study. Students were administered an instrument which included a "math autobiography," the Adult Mathematics Expectation Scale…

Reports on a study that examined the nature of vocal jazz improvisation and the factors that influence achievement in improvisation. Participating subjects performed two jazz improvisation tasks that were measured for tonal, rhythmic, and expressive items. Correlating independent variables included jazz theory knowledge, jazz experience, and…

In order to investigate the nature of students' prior knowledge of current electricity and how they applied their knowledge to different problems, 5 middle school science teachers and 11 elementary school teachers were given a written test that required them to: (1) predict what happens to the brightness of a bulb if a change is made to the…

The product of a two-year study investigating the literacy behavior of nine kindergarten students and their classmates, this report first explains the impetus and the theoretical foundations for the investigation and describes its subjects and setting. It then presents the methodology and the data collected from several related studies: (1)…

In a framework of cognitive theory, an exploratory study examined eye movements of learners studying print materials combining text and illustrations. Eye movement patterns were used as indicators of the cognitive strategies employed. Both design and learner variables were emphasized. Twenty-four graduate education students were randomly assigned…