The Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (WISC-R), one of the most commonly used tests of cognitive ability, is difficult to administer accurately. The purpose of this study was primarily to assess interrater agreement on the WISC-R Administration Observational Checklist (WAOC), a new observational instrument that can be used by an…

This investigation examined the effects of mediation and Intelligence Quotient (IQ) scores on conceptual learning for black college students. It was predicted that higher IQ scoring subjects would not outperform lower IQ scoring subjects under nonmediated learning conditions but would significantly outperform lower IQ scoring subjects under…

This paper reviews the history of the placement of mentally retarded students during the first half of this century. In 1900, it was generally assumed that custodial care of feebleminded persons was necessary to protect society. Severely retarded students were regularly excluded from public school attendance. Soon school officials began adopting…

Adverse effects of material rewards on Wechsler subscale performance may be the result of a reward-produced developmental regression. To further explore that idea through replicating earlier findings with adults, and to extend the enquiry to children, selected Wechsler subscales were administered to 32 subjects at each of three ages (5, 10, and 18…

This paper describes how a language for building information systems that is being developed by the Office for Research at OCLC can be linked to an artificial intelligence environment, Poplog. The demonstration system--ISIS (Intelligent Support for Interface systems)--shows how Poplog could provide some intelligent support for a D interface,…

This paper discusses the relationship between the mediation of task performance by some structure that is not inherent in the task domain itself and the phenomenon of automatization, in which skilled performance becomes effortless or phenomenologically "automatic" after extensive practice. The use of a common simple explicit mediating…

The literature on instructional design argues that curricula, educational materials, and instructional strategies are best created using a systems approach, and models for the systematic design of educational programs have proliferated over the past decade. However, these models are prescriptive and not based on research into how designers…

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…

Some diverse fields in which the effects of mental representations have been noticed are first discussed, largely through illustrations of differing problem-solving experiences. Then the LAKOS Project (Logical Analysis of Cognitive Organizational Structures) at the University of Osnabruck is described. A central concern is the specification of a…

In the present decade, the United States has reaffirmed its commitment to the maximum development of all children. This commitment includes each of the estimated 2.5 million gifted children in the country. As part of this commitment, the Office of Education has formulated a new and broadened definition of giftedness. However, even with a broadened…

This study investigated the effectiveness of teaching specific rather than global comprehension skills; the correlations among sex, intelligence level, and comprehension gain when taught global or specific comprehension skills; and the correlations between the factors of intelligence, comprehension, and vocabulary without regard for the teaching…

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…

Screening batteries for the identification of learning disabled children in grades one and three were validated for a pooled group of students from an urban, a suburban, and a rural school. Predictor batteries of individually administered instruments were able to classify students into low achievers and others on several criterion variables…

This paper describes a project which examined the impact of various forms of social work intervention with parents on the functioning of the parents and their preschool children. Subjects were 105 children attending one of two day care centers and their welfare families. Effects of three intervention and two nonintervention conditions were…

In 1974-1975, a preliminary study was undertaken to investigate the presence of learning disabilities in adults. Previously completed research studies have focused entirely upon the child and adolescent, with a direct concentration on remediation of this problem. Learning disabilities, currently estimated to afflict ten million school-aged…