When conducting psychological evaluations, clinicians typically assume that individuals being evaluated are putting forth maximal effort and are not exaggerating or magnifying symptom complaints. Recent research, however, suggests that students undergoing post-secondary-level assessments to document learning difficulties may not always put forth…

Background: Although it is believed that children with cerebral palsy are at high risk for learning difficulties and arithmetic difficulties in particular, few studies have investigated this issue. Methods: Arithmetic ability was longitudinally assessed in children with cerebral palsy in special (n = 41) and mainstream education (n = 16) and…

An artificial grammar learning task was used to define two learning tasks of identical complexity at the symbolic level, but which differed in terms of stimulus format. The stimuli in one learning task were created so as to encourage participants to perceive each stimulus as a whole, with less emphasis on the stimulus constituent elements (the…

As teachers of higher education, we expect students to enter college with some understanding of what it means to be an effective learner and the ability to apply effective learning strategies. Unfortunately, many students do not develop effective learning strategies unless they receive explicit instruction and the opportunity to apply these…

New technologies allow the display of text, static visuals, and animations. Although animations are inherently attractive, they are not always beneficial for learning. Problems may arise especially when animations modify the learner's cognitive load in an unintended way. In two learning experiments with 40 and 26 university students, the effects…

This is the final report of a series of 19 experiments designed to study impasses in the learning of skills with a strong perceptual component. Several series of experiments were designed with the purpose of producing experimentally manipulable impasses or plateaus in the course of learning. Over 200 subjects (humans and animals) in learning…

Over a five year period, a university clinic performed psychological evaluations of 102 adults (including 85 college students) who reported that they were experiencing learning or attention problems. Of 92 persons who completed the evaluation, 40 (43.5%) received no diagnosis, 7 (7.6%) received the diagnosis of ADHD, 29 (31.5%) received the…

To investigate the reasons that tutoring is effective, a study was conducted of what happened during a series of tutoring sessions, and the effects of these events on students' behaviors and tutoring outcomes were analyzed. A total of 48 tutoring sessions, which included 6 tutors and approximately 25 college student-athletes, were tape-recorded by…

Drawing on experience in South Africa, college-student learning difficulties are approached as problems in accessing and mastering the cognitive processes needed to develop the specific academic literacy required for the disciplines. Based on this theory, the article argues for integration of such academic development into mainstream…

College students experiencing academic difficulties are a major concern to universities. Research has indicated that many underachievers display certain identifiable electroencephalogram (EEG) characteristics. Unlike achieving students, underachievers often exhibit little EEG arousal during normally motivating tasks. These findings suggest that…

Two hundred four (204) college students who had difficulties in both foreign language and math (FLD/MD), only math difficulties (MD), or only foreign language difficulties (FLD) were studied. Analysis of prevalence of presenting problems indicated that FLD and FLD/MD are relatively uncommon, compared to MD. Comparisons among the three groups…

This study evaluated the cognitive and achievement profiles of college students experiencing difficulties in foreign language (FLD group). Because past research appears to have generated different results based on the type of comparison groups utilized, we attempted to obtain a better representation of students with foreign language difficulties.…