Language-analytic ability, or the ability to treat language as an object of analysis and arrive at linguistic generalizations, is at the core of the constructs of language learning aptitude and metalinguistic awareness, which are implicated in our ability to learn explicitly. In the context of child second language (L2) learning, it has been…

In 1986, the National Association of Secondary School Principals, with the assistance of a national task force, published the NASSP Learning Style Profile (LSP) for diagnosis of the cognitive styles, perceptual response tendencies, and instructional preferences of middle level and senior high school students. This monograph offers a short course…

Argues that a problem with the storage and conduit metaphor lies in its attention to representational knowledge while giving little attention to cognitive knowledge. (JC)

This study examined the relationship between cognitive style and information processing in preschoolers, and described developmental changes in their performance on a central-incidental learning task. Sixty preschoolers, in two age groups (mean ages of 4-1 and 4-11), were administered tests of reflection-impulsivity, field dependence-independence,…

The article provides a rationale for the consideration of the processing differences of exceptional learners and discusses how these differences influence the development of the skills necessary for normal school achievement. (PHR)

Explains the relationship between memory and learning and focuses on the psychological basis of learning, student motivation, and behavioral traits. Describes how learning experiences can be implemented in engineering education. (Contains 25 references.) (YDS)

This study investigated two methods for establishing a systematic, selective, attending strategy in a memory task for children. One method was direct training of a specific strategy, employing instructions, fading, modeling, and prompts to direct the child's attention to the relevant features and to organize systematic looking behavior. The second…

Describes a study that attempts to validate the Edmonds Learning Style Identification Exercise (ELSIE), purported to be a quick and easy means to identify and analyze a postulated relationship between preference for sensory modality in learning style and the potential for success in second language learning. (SL)

Proposes guidelines for the development of a curriculum of visual thinking for early childhood education. Outlines suggestions derived from Piaget's theory and research as they apply to developing children's mental imagery skills in the school setting. Relates Piaget's findings to those of learning theory and "split brain" research. (MCF)

Considers the role that students' approaches to learning play in summarizing text and learning from summarization. Discusses studies of two forms of summarization, one with the text available and one with the text removed after reading but before summarization. Reports that text-absent summarization facilitates deeper processing for students who…

Investigated the use of organizational schemes in memorizing prose. Adult organizational schemes were a function of the structure of material to be remembered and the individual's plan to recall the material. Age and sex differences were discovered in an experiment assessing developmental changes in recall plans of children and adults. (Author/DB)

Identifies four characteristics of a cognitive model of learning (short-term and long-term memory, use of cognitive strategies, and dual information processing), and examines this model's implications for educational broadcast television design. This review focuses on research studies with instructional implications for pacing, cueing, modeling,…

Assessed first and third graders' and undergraduates' knowledge of strategies appropriate to comprehension and memory. Also assessed their knowledge of task variables affecting comprehension and memorization tasks. Only undergraduates showed understanding of comprehension-memory distinction. Third graders showed some understanding of differential…

This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The 19 titles deal with a variety of topics, including the following: (1) factual, elaborative, and inferential levels of text processing; (2) the effect of explicitly and implicitly presented rhetorical functions on the…