Evaluated contributions of age, presentation modality, task demand, and content structure to prose recall variation among adults. Tested 60 young and 60 older adults for recall of ideas in 641-word prose passage. Found recall for total number of idea units was significantly lower for older participants and for auditory presentation across both age…

The relative effectiveness of three procedures for increasing vocal response to prompt in 15 preschool children with Down Syndrome was compared. Light-dimming and visual screening, when combined with positive reinforcement, were both found to be significantly more effective than positive reinforcement alone. (Author/JDD)

Describes a college teaching experience in which active visual analysis (hands-on deconstruction of visual statements to their constituent elements and principles) had an unblocking effect on concomitant writing assignments. Suggests that students can improve both verbal and visual articulateness when modes of perceiving and thinking are used…

Eleven students of novice paddling ability were divided into two groups, one group receiving verbal, the other nonverbal, instructions on using the kayak stern rudder. The verbal group was significantly better at performing the correct sequence of movements. Results support existing research showing that observation alone does not enable the…

Children's use of the middle concept was assessed in two developmental studies. Experiment 1, with kindergarten through fifth-grade students, showed marked improvement in the mastery of the middle concept across elementary grades. In Experiment 2, discrimination pretraining with two nonoverlapping stimulus sets transferred to the novel test…

This first installment in a series of edited transcripts based on a conference held at Utah State University in 1987 reviews the main points of Gagne's Learning Theory. Categories of human performance that are discussed include verbal information, intellectual skills, cognitive strategies, attitudes, and motor skills. (Three references) (LRW)

This study of 52 learning-disabled children, aged 8-13, found that direct feedback and practice improved metaphor interpretation. The approach was highly successful in teaching students to generalize concrete concepts to abstract ones. Further descriptive analyses indicated that grade and reading levels of subjects correlated with metaphor…

This paper reviews the historical development of Auditory-Verbal International, which was established as a nonprofit organization to achieve the goal of increasing availability and effectiveness of the auditory-verbal approach for individuals with hearing impairments. The group's position statement is presented, along with principles of…

This paper deals with the auditory-verbal therapy process as implemented with two children (ages three and seven) with hearing impairments, enrolled in the Auditory-Verbal Therapy Programme of North York (Ontario) General Hospital. The paper contains audiological information, long-term objectives, and a detailed lesson plan for each child. (JDD)

Describes the development of the VV-BOS (Visualizer/Verbalizer Behavior Observation Scale), a computer-based instrument for direct observation of students' preferences for visual or verbal learning material. Results of a study with second-language learners indicated a high degree of reliability as an alternative to conventional questionnaires.…

Objective: To test the hypothesis that patients with pediatric bipolar disorder (PBPD) would demonstrate impairment relative to diagnosis-free controls of comparable age, gender, and IQ on measures of memory functioning. Method: The authors administered a battery of verbal and visuospatial memory tests to 35 outpatients with PBPD and 20 healthy…

Emerging data support the construct validity of component process variables of learning and memory within the Hopkins Verbal Learning Test-Revised (HVLT-R; Brandt & Benedict, 2001); however, the test-retest reliabilities of such measures are heretofore largely unknown. This study reveals generally modest-to-low 1-year test-retest stability for…

Profiles of verbal learning and memory performance were compared for typically developing children and for four developmental disorders characterized by different patterns of language functioning: specific language impairment, early focal brain damage, Williams Syndrome, and Down Syndrome. A list-learning task was used that allowed a detailed…

We examined the relationship between learning styles and student type. This research seeks to examine if online students exhibit different learning styles from onsite students; and, if so, what accommodations relating to learning style differences may be made for online students? Students (N = 80) were asked to complete an online survey in order…

Circumscribed interests are a fascinating and an understudied phenomenon in some individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Research in this area is likely to contribute to our understanding of ASDs and to advancing developmental knowledge on learning processes used to adapt to the demands of everyday social life. This study reports on a…