Two experiments were conducted to test three hypotheses related to comprehension. The hypotheses were: that actions are harder to modify than states; that implications or inferences from modified concepts would also change in memory; and that propagation of modifications would be less likely to states than to actions. The first experiment tested…

This document, published in India by the Regional College of Education, deals with 13 subjects: the tough context (thinking), definitions of concept, functions of concept, the process of concept formation, discriminant learning, mediation process, second signalling system, factors affecting concept formation, studies in concept formation, the…

This reports the effects of the number of relevant stimulus dimensions and figural versus verbal stimuli on the concept learning ability of college students. Results force a consideration of mediational variables in explaining this form of cognitive learning. A set of verbal materials analogous to a set of dimensionalized figural materials was…

To test whether the process of learning mathematics involves the effect of a hierarchical concept (as opposed to a "snowball" effect, in which one set of concepts becomes the basis for a new set), a matrix of correlations of progress test scores from a self-instructional high school algebra course was analyzed. The form of the matrix did not…

This investigation examined in the laboratory the type of learning commonly found in the school situation--the formalized acquisition of concepts. A verbal concept-learning task suitable for college students was devised which permitted the externalizing and quantifying of behavior at 6 points in the learning process. A pilot study evaluated the…

A schema is best understood as a statistically defined concept. Schematic concept formation consists of abstracting the common elements or properties of a defined class in a schema. Thereafter, both discrimination and retention are facilitated, since only deviations from the schema need be processed for any particular class exemplar. In the…

Three experiments were conducted to determine the effectiveness of verbal and imaginal rehearsal strategies in children's discrimination learning. With verbal materials, imaging the referent of the correct item was more facilitative than vocalizing the correct item, as long as the former strategy was defined in a manner conducive to effective…

The Wisconsin model of conceptual learning and development specifies four levels of mastery in the acquisition of a concept. The levels of mastery are defined in terms of performance on tasks designed to measure each level. This paper discusses the internal operations or processes which are inferred as the mechanisms by which each level of…

Conceptual problems were administered in two formats, rule learning and attribute identification, to 192 college students. The stimulus patterns were gemoetric designs. Results showed that bidimensional concepts about the patterns were retained nearly perfectly up through periods of one week, without intevening practice. The one exception was…

This supplementary report was designed to aid the researcher concerned with concept learning. It contains: (1) rationale and strategy for compiling a bibliography of articles concerned with concept learning; (2) a definition of the world "concept"; (3) a system for classifying articles by their content; (4) a bibliography of relevant articles…

Caution is urged in applying the normative-descriptive distinction to selection models, because ambiguities arise when the distinction is actually carried out (AA 529 125). A multidimensional structure may be needed to account for strategy, and the relationship between strategy and such nontask variables as intelligence is needed to clarify the…

The author explains what the IOWO is and the reason for the present conference and his part in it. He discusses the observation of learning processes and gives an example of an opportunity he had to observe a learning jump in a small boy. (MN)

A review of recent studies indicates that gifted learners spontaneously produce more effective learning strategies than comparison groups and benefit from the use of more complex, externally provided strategies. Implications include the use of slower presentation rates for new information, spatial organization of prose content, and…

This paper describe the intertwined nature of metacognition and conceptual change and proposes a taxonomy that classifies the types of metacognitive knowledge and activities that are likely to influence the change in students' conceptions. The initial conceptual change model is introduced to provide background and context for the theoretical…

Fourteen third graders were given numerical computation and division-with-remainder (DWR) problems both before and after they were taught the division algorithm in classrooms. Their solutions were examined. The results show that students' initial acquisition of the division algorithm did improve their performance in numerical division computations…