Changes in 70 teachers' confidence, attitudes and science understanding were tested before and after a major in-service programme. Attitudes were assessed using a 49-item Likert-scale test that probed attitudes to practical science teaching and in-service training. Multi-choice and open-ended questions measured understanding of electricity;…

Examines Japanese and American children's styles of processing computerized geometric matrices. Hypothesizes cultural differences for response latencies. Finds no difference in accuracy between the two groups but significant differences in response times for second- and fifth-graders. (MW)

Design and results of an investigation attempting to analyze and improve children's solution processes in elementary addition and subtraction problems are described. As background for the study, a conceptual model was developed based on previous research. One dimension of the model relates to the characteristics of the tasks (numerical versus word…

Criticisms of the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) have included speculation that the listening test places too much burden on short-term memory as compared with comprehension, that a knowledge of reading is required to respond successfully, and that many items appear to require mere recall and matching rather than higher-order…

Instructional research is synthesized, using categories specific and functional enough to provide guidance for classroom practice. The opening chapter presents a theory for conducting a theory-based meta-analysis of the research on instruction, outlining a theory that involves four elements of human information processing: the self-system, the…

The "primacy of reading" hypothesis as the explanation for the high correlation between children's competencies in literacy and numeracy is rejected in this paper. Instead, a "primacy of speech perception" hypothesis is examined. It is suggested that analysis-by-synthesis speech recognition procedures are acquired in early childhood and that the…

This 4-year longitudinal study of logical reasoning found complex interrelationships among different cognitive processes of children ages 6 to 15. Piaget's stage theory is discussed in the introduction, with a focus on the concrete operational stage in middle childhood. In the study, a representative array of logical concept tasks and short-term…

A study was designed in which a battery of 11 selected instruments was given to 320 professional students (four classes) at the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine to measure a variety of parameters of brain function and cognitive ability. Results were to be used to develop ability or competency profiles, to compare scores, to…

The relationships between middle school students' multiple motivational goal orientations and their use of multiple cognitive and metacognitive strategies were studied with a focus on relations between these motivational and cognitive variables and students' academic achievement in two curriculum areas. Participants were 602 middle school students…

Variability in diagnostic procedures and a lack of valid and reliable measures led to the development of a comprehensive battery, which incorporated an operational definition of learning disabilities. The battery consisted of forms for observing these functions: intelligence, academic achievement, gross and fine motor control, visual perception,…

The Kentucky state plan for the collection of data concerning the cognitive, affective and pscyhomotor needs of school children is discussed. The plan entails: (1) identification of the needs of learners to be served, (2) determination of the criticality of the learner needs that are identified by applying judgmental values, (3) establishment of…

This study tested the amount of value added to critical and communication skills by the university experience using a strategy that compared the skills of entering and graduating students at York University (Ontario). The study involved, first, identifying skills that might be improved over the course of a university education; second, developing…

The effects of extended time on SAT Reasoning Test™ performance are examined. The study explored the impact of providing standard time, time and a half (1.5 time) with and without specified section breaks, and double time without specified section breaks on the verbal and mathematics sections of the SAT®. Differences among ability, disability, and…

Effectively teaching low-achieving and learning disabled students is challenging. Concept-based instruction is recognized as a particularly effective technique for helping students in these populations attain high levels of achievement (Tindal, Nolet, & Blake, 1992). The maze (a reading selection where certain words have been deleted and…

This report describes the growth in cognitive skills and achievement, and the continuities and discontinuities experienced in school and at home by the eighth-grade cohort of the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 (NELS:88) during the 2 years between the study's base year (1988) and the first-followup (1990) surveys. The report examines…