Current notions of metacognition merge with the predominant scientific model used in psychology, that of information processing. Metacognition is seen as a control process that governs the action of more elemental cognitive skills. Given the centrality of this notion, it is important that metacognition should be examined in detail. From the point…

Different kinds of basic knowledge and strategies necessary for comprehension are examined in three radically different domains: (1) the stories, (2) mathematical problems, and (3) electronic circuits. From analyzing the comprehension processes in these different domains, similarities have emerged in the role of planning knowledge and the…

This paper contains a description of the status of a project on student information processing responses that mediate teaching effects in classroom settings. The central activity of the project is the construction of a conceptual model that relates classroom task structures to student information processing and to subject-matter achievement. The…

In a study of the effects of pictorial stimuli on story recall, 64 second graders were randomly assigned to two experimental groups and two control groups. The learning materials consisted of two orally presented ten-sentence stories. The experimental subjects viewed pictures while the stories were read, and the control groups followed the printed…

Listening is a crucial element in the communication process. To date, however, research efforts have been unsuccessful in identifying the proper role that listening should play in the building of communication theory. To be a legitimate part of the communication process, listening must be placed in a conceptual framework similar to those found in…

This paper describes a model for the adolescent's understanding of the motion of objects, and the application of this model to the design of beginning physics instruction in mechanics. Students' difficulties in learning classical Newtonian mechanics are described and integrated into current cognitive science research. Research findings on physics…

In three experiments subjects (college and high school students) read passages which described psychological principles and answered either adjunct application or factual questions while reading. Questions were presented either before, after, or both before and after the parts of the passage that answered the questions. Subsequently subjects took…

Cognitive development and various educational implications are discussed in terms of Donald Saari's model of the interaction of a learner and the enviroment and the constraints imposed by the inefficiency of the learner's cognitive system. Saari proposed a hierarchical system of cognitive structures such that the relationships between structures…

A report is given on research exploring the theory that stimulation from the teacher does not directly initiate student learning but activates cognitive processes that result in learning. Combined research into classroom processes and student information processing was conducted. An analysis of treatment theories that operate in research on…

A 3-MONTH STATUS REPORT WAS MADE ON THE ACTIVITIES PURSUED IN PHASE 1 OF A LARGER 10-YEAR PROJECT DEALING WITH THE PSYCHOLOGICAL AND EDUCATIONAL FACTORS INVOLVED IN TRANSFER OF TRAINING. REPORTS OF ONGOING PROJECTS AND THEIR CURRENT STATUS WERE PRESENTED. THEY INCLUDED (1) A STUDY OF THE TRANSFER EFFECTS OF WRITTEN INSTRUCTIONS TO TASK PERFORMANCE…

This collection contains lessons in 4 subjects related to learning: (1) visual perception; (2) learning; (3) cognitive growth; and (4) moral development. Activities dominate each lesson and students are expected to do some experimentation outside the classroom. Each of the 20 lessons presents: (1) a synopsis; (2) objectives; (3) necessary…

Empirical research is reviewed in the area of cognitive psychology pertaining to models of human memory. Research evidence and theoretical considerations are combined to develop guidelines for future theory development related to the human memory. The following theoretical constructs and variables are discussed: (1) storage versus process…

A schema developed for the teaching of reading involves five factors: learning, language, clues, mediums of communication, and adaptive processes. Learning involves four tasks, taught in the following sequence: comprehension, comparison of semantic shapes, composition of the whole into parts, and concentration. There are four general language…

Research on learning and conditioning suggests that verbal response modification does not occur in the absence of the subject's ability to define verbally (1) the response-reinforcement relationships and (2) his intention to change his behavior in the direction of reinforcement. This seems to be true for operant conditioning of verbal behavior,…

To examine the use of factual and inferential questions as adjunct material in prose learning, a study was undertaken in which undergraduate introductory psychology students used different study strategies on a prose comprehension test consisting of an equal number of factual and inferential multiple-choice items. One-hundred twenty students were…