Describes two exploratory studies of undergraduate and postgraduate students concerning the difficulties of learning to perform HTA (hierarchical task analysis) and how those difficulties might be overcome through proper training. Errors occurred with respect to all HTA criteria, suggesting that carrying out HTR itself is a complex cognitive task.…

Expert systems, rule-based knowledge systems, have been widely heralded as an important tool in management and accounting. Expert system shells have become available for personal computers, and accountants are investing in systems which are supposed to be capable of intelligent decisions. The limitations of rule-based knowledge systems are…

Three experiments examined whether the phenomena of visual search for single characters (Sternberg, 1966) generalizes to word and word-category search when target and distractor sets had varied and consistent mappings across trials. Previous results were replicated. Four principles of search are discussed within a theory of automatic/control…

Because many textbooks contain sparse headings or no headings at all, the effectiveness of having students generate their own headings while studying material from an introductory biology text was investigated. General psychology students (N=51) were randomly assigned to three groups: (1) Headings Generation, given instructions on creating a…

Relatively simple changes in cognitive activities during prose learning can substantially affect information acquisition, yet many students' strategies are ineffective. A prose learning strategy training program using network models of long-term memory structure and depth-of-processing theory is presented with evidence of its effectiveness among…

Suggesting that headings provide useful cues for input/output processing, this investigation examined the utility of intact (topic outline format) and embedded (appropriately positioned within text) headings as processing aids with non-narrative text material under conditions of immediate and delayed recall. Passages were selected from biology…

Two experiments were conducted to assess the effects of knowledge schema training and text organization on the comprehension and recall of scientific prose. The first experiment tested whether or not knowledge schema training improves processing and recall of a passage on plate tectonics (32 college subjects served as subjects). The second…

Gestalt Therapy is in a growth crisis. In practice, there is an abundance of inadequate practitioners and trainers of Gestalt Therapy. In the literature, there is an abundance of introductory works, a paucity of advanced texts, and a misunderstanding and inadequate representation of Gestalt Therapy. Gestalt Therapy training is confused by unclear…

Designed for inservice and preservice training, this manual provides information about the ways a traumatic brain injury (TBI) can affect a student's functioning and the ways an educator can intervene to improve the student's chances of academic and social success. The first part of the manual is a trainer's manual and the second part is a…

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…

Discusses counselor trainee anxiety and concludes that this anxiety has a cognitive or a self-talk component which increases the counselor's focus on self-evaluative thinking. A method based on cognitive behavior modification literature is presented to reduce trainee anxiety and increase concentration on client verbalization. (Author/JAC)

To investigate whether there are 2 types of test-anxious students, those with poor study skills and those with difficulties in retrieving material, study skills training or anxiety desensitization were provided to 84 high test-anxious university students in Israel. Results support the theory of two types of test-anxious students. (SLD)

Describes a study of undergraduates that investigated the effects of mental imagery during training on posttest scores. Speed of retrieval time versus accuracy is discussed; perception of imagery use is examined; and treatments of experimental and control groups are described. (23 references) (LRW)

This study investigated whether training in reflection improves the quality of beginning preservice teachers' pedagogical thinking. The most problematic element for the reflecting student is becoming aware of essential aspects and evaluating action. The study compared the effects of two types of reflective training on two groups of students. One…

This study was the first in a series of investigations designed to examine techniques purporting to enhance the effectiveness of human memory. The utility of a simple pegword mnemonic for Army enlisted personnel, representing three levels of general technical ability, was examined. Half of each ability group was instructed in use of a rhyme…