Finds that under certain conditions topic interest and prior knowledge can influence developmental-college-student-generated questions and that differential patterns of question construction emerge in multiple-choice and essay conditions. (SR)

An action research project investigating the Assessment of Prior Experiential Learning at the University of Kent found difficulties in reconciling student needs with pressure to concentrate on experiences relevant to higher education. There was also tension between student needs and institutional requirements for the format of portfolios. (SK)

Reviews the literature on the effect of prior knowledge and text familiarity on document comprehension and usability. Discusses current methods for assessing subjects' topic familiarity. Presents an empirically based method for effectively assessing topic familiarity. Explains that the method includes use of two subject groups and reliance on…

This study examined ways in which experience in computer usage influences the manifestation of computer anxiety and computer interest in high school students in Western Australia. Use of the Computer Anxiety Scale and the Computer Interest Scale are discussed, and a decline in anxiety level corresponding with an increase in experience is shown.…

The past decade has seen the emergence of numerous new terms, research approaches, and evidence of the nature of learning. Some new concepts are authentic activity, apprenticeship learning, case-based research, conceptual change, constructivism, distributed knowledge, and socially shared cognition. Constructs underlying the new terms involve the…

This literature review examines seven issues: describing minimum requirements for qualifications, distinguishing qualification levels, recognizing prior learning, using short courses, recording competency-based assessment results, keeping records of individual achievement, and deciding whether to record exact competencies. Recent movements to…

Describes effective instructional practices for students who are acquiring English as a Second Language, grouped under two fundamental pedagogic principles: providing an encouraging learning environment for self-expression and deep personal involvement, and developing children's background knowledge. (SR)

An interactive approach to teaching French second-language reading comprehension is described. The method emphasizes involving the readers in the comprehension process and encouraging them to draw on prior learning to create hypotheses about the text's content. A four-stage instructional process is outlined. (MSE)

A model for assessing/accrediting prior learning for the achievement of National Vocational Qualifications in Britain uses five evidence factors (authenticity, retention, relevance, quantity, and variety), assigns values to the factors, and assesses the resulting value patterns. (SK)

Describes two strategies (Yes/No...Why? and It Reminds Me Of...) that provide young or poor readers with the prerequisite background knowledge for interpreting a passage. States that these strategies can be used with all types of reading materials and can also be used with nonreaders. (MG)

High school chemistry students' (n=183) applied and theoretical knowledge of dissolution, diffusion, effusion, and states of matter were compared. Study found that students' formal reasoning ability and their preexisting knowledge are associated with their conceptions and use of particulate theory. A significant difference between applied and…

The role of a subject's conceptual knowledge in the procedural task of searching a text for information was studied for 51 college undergraduates in 2 experiments involving knowledge of anatomy. Students with more anatomical information were able to search a text more quickly. Educational implications are discussed. (SLD)

Assesses prior knowledge and involvement in high school readers whose backgrounds would seem to match the possible interpretations of an ambiguous text. Finds that (1) prior knowledge resulting from actual group membership exerted only a modest effect on interpretation; (2) readers' level of involvement predicted text interpretation reliably; and…

Discusses development and implementation of an approach to decoding in which students use words they know to decode those they do not know. Discusses how an analogy approach was implemented in a tutorial setting. Offers guidelines for how the approach can be used in regular classrooms, including whole language classrooms. (RS)

Discussion of informational books for young people focuses on a study of authors of children's science books. Data are reported from authors in the United States, Canada, and Great Britain in four main areas: (1) background in education and experience; (2) science-related hobbies and interests; (3) research techniques; and (4) reasons for writing.…