A more fragmented approach to assessment of global ability concepts than is generally advocated is suggested, based on the assumption that decomposing a complex ability into cognitive components and tracking performance across multiple measures will yield valid and instructionally useful information. Specifications are suggested for designing…

Describes a survey of department chairs of the public two-year colleges in Tennessee, which investigated the degree to which administrators understand strategic planning and feel their institutions are practicing strategic planning, and the implications of observed discrepancies between the perceived and actual practice of strategic planning. (DMM)

Student understanding of 30 nontechnical words used in science was investigated. No significant differences were found between the understanding of nontechnical words in science or between the verbal reasoning ability of males (n=108) and females (n=89). Of the four different question formats, students had the most difficulty with the synonym…

Concepts used by two classes of grade eight students, one advanced and the other average, to explain the changes that occur when water is heated to boiling are presented. Little difference was found between groups in terms of the personal misconceptions used to explain boiling. The changes that take place in conceptual knowledge immediately after…

Examined young runaways' current risk behaviors, knowledge of AIDS, and beliefs about preventing AIDS by questioning 130 male and female subjects from shelters in New York City in 1988-89. Results did not explain the 6.7 percent seroprevalence rate reported in l988. Recommends closer inquiries regarding IV drug use and prostitution. (DM)

A 1990 survey of 196 first- and second-year dental hygiene students at 5 colleges and universities investigated their knowledge of transmission of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Incomplete knowledge and some confusion was found, but little difference was found between first- and second-year students. (MSE)

Compared pregnant adolescents (n=45), parenting adolescents (n=39 mothers), and nonpregnant adolescents (n=45) on knowledge of child development and attitudes toward caretaking. Pregnant and parenting adolescents were more realistic about developmental milestones than were nonpregnant adolescents. Parenting adolescents demonstrated more positive…

This investigation surveyed public school nurses' (n=30) preparedness to participate in a hearing aid monitoring program. Results indicated some deficiencies in nurses' exposure to, knowledge of, and basic skill level with hearing aids, hearing aid batteries, and ear molds. (Author/DB)

The differences among elaborative-interrogation, reading-to-understand, and no-exposure control conditions with familiar domain material in contrast to unfamiliar domain material were studied for 50 Canadian and 50 west German undergraduates. Results provide evidence of effects of both elaborative interrogation and prior knowledge on learning.…

Differences in use of problem-solving strategies for environmental issues were studied for 17 experts on the environment, in contrast with novice groups of 53 academics and 15 graduating college students. The significantly higher scores of environmental experts imply that the skills to solve multidisciplinary issues are domain specific. (SLD)

A job analysis was conducted for the basic skills considered important for all entry-level teachers regardless of subject area or level taught. A national sample of 6,120 practicing teachers reviewed judgments of experts and concurred in acknowledging 84% of the basic skills that experts identified as important. (SLD)

A survey of 204 secondary students with deafness or hearing impairment suggested that adolescents had a general idea about what human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) are and the potential impact of the disease. However, they demonstrated gaps in knowledge of how the disease is transmitted and prevented…

Evidence from 5 experiments with over 150 newborns suggests that infants are born with some information about the structure of faces. This information, termed CONSPEC, is contrasted with CONLERN, a device for learning visual characteristics of conspecifics. Distinction between these mechanisms allows for reconciling conflicting data about face…

A theoretical model is proposed for confidence in knowledge based on the assumption that people are good judges of the reliability of their knowledge, provided that the knowledge is representatively sampled from a specified reference class as defined by E. Brunswik (1943). Experiments with 177 college students support the theory. (SLD)

Knowledge of, compliance with, and attitudes toward mandatory child abuse reporting were studied for 216 elementary and secondary school teachers in British Columbia (Canada). Teachers were aware of the law's existence but not its particulars. The tendency to report abuse varied as a function of the type of maltreatment. (SLD)