The current study investigated how perceived popularity and collaboration quality were associated with knowledge gain of adolescents during a collaborative learning task. Participants included 264 children ages 10-12 years (52.3% boys), who collaborated 3 times in same-sex dyads on a computer assignment. Results indicated that the knowledge of the…

Finds that a story mapping procedure significantly improved fifth-grade students' comprehension, but finds no difference between a typical basal lesson using a discussion of oral and written questions as a review and a story map as a review to improve comprehension. (FL)

This study, with 48 students (including 16 eighth graders with learning disabilities (LD), 16 age level peers, and 16 reading level peers), found that all groups, but especially LD students, benefited from experimenter activation of prior knowledge on reading comprehension tasks testing inferential reading ability. Experimenter activation of prior…

The relationships among prior knowledge, learning strategy use, interest, learning goals, and conceptual understanding were studied with 72 fifth graders from 3 science classrooms. In September 1996 students completed a knowledge test designed to assess their prior knowledge and conceptual understanding of ecological concepts (plant and animal…

Examines the effect of prior knowledge activation on sixth-grade readers' comprehension of compatible and incompatible text. Results support the notion that prior knowledge may intefer with, rather than facilitate, reading comprehension under certain conditions. (HOD)

Using sixth-grade students, a study examines (1) relationships between background knowledge and passage comprehension, (2) relative usefulness of certain variations in measuring available knowledge, (3) value of a background measure as applied to a teacher-directed small group prereading language and concept organizer activity, and (4) effect of a…

Confirms that able readers have a more well-rounded sense of story structure than disabled readers. Specifically, that able readers demonstrated an ability to tell more elaborate stories than disabled readers. (FL)

A study investigated the effects of direct instruction in the process of revision on students' knowledge of the revision process, their ability to make revisions on paper, and the quality of their writing. Subjects, 30 sixth grade students, were divided into an experimental and a control group. The experimental group received instruction in the…

In most elementary schools in the United States, students get their first systematic introduction to history as a discipline and to chronological treatment of U.S. history as subject matter in fifth-grade U.S. history courses. To develop information about the knowledge and misconceptions concerning U.S. history that fifth-grade teachers can expect…