The effect of special instruction in certain reading skills involved in solving verbal problems was compared with the effect of supervised practice in solving verbal problems on the improvement of verbal problem-solving ability of 179 fourth graders. The sample from six classes in three public elementary schools in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, was…

This research on factors influencing verbal learning and retention has used new techniques, attacked new problems, and tested new theories while trying to keep the experiments systematic. Studies conducted involved (1) the effect of varying the length of the intertrial interval on the learning and retention of different types of learning tasks;…

Three classroom experiments were conducted using a simulation game, Trade and Develop, designed for classroom use with students in grade six through twelve economic geography classes. The hypotheses tested were: a simulation game will motivate students to learn subject matter related to the game, and, the game will facilitate learning by acting as…

Sixteen middle class, four-person families were used in a study comparing communicative behavior of parents interacting with a younger child (3 or 4 years old) whose language skills were developing, and with an older child (6 or 7 years old) whose basic language skills were established. Combinations of sex of siblings and sibling position were…

A research project involving 16 experiments investigated the nature of the encoding process for verbal materials, particularly differences arising from mode of presentation. The results showed that a change in mode of presentation of items produced a recovery from interference in short term retention. Since intermodal interference was lower than…

To develop and test a scheme for analyzing adult-child verbal interaction, tape recordings of such interactions were made in 12 homes representing high verbal ability and average verbal ability. Dialogues obtained were coded in nine categories of utterances, and their frequency and patterning were related to the verbal ability of the 12 7 1/2- to…

To examine the influence of two variables--prompting versus confirmation, and verbalization--on learning, 60 high school subjects used programed instruction under six randomly assigned treatment conditions to learn to write computer programs. The rules group periodically wrote out the programing rules; the naming group subjects named the rules;…

Reports on a study that sought to test theories which predict that spacing between two items to be learned improves the probability of remembering at least one of the items. (AM)

Three experiments use a tachistoscopic word recognition task to investigate how skilled readers covert visual input into a speech-related or phonological code during reading. (Author/NCR)

The author answers responses (EC 222 813-814) to his paper, "Self-Regulation and Mental Retardation" (EC 222 812). Research is encouraged into questions concerning the extent complex and independent adaptive behaviors can be taught to the retarded and the comparative effectiveness of verbal mediators or alternative approaches in…

Parents of four nonverbal and four echolalic autistic children, aged five-nine, were trained to increase their children's speech by using the Natural Language Paradigm. Following training, parents increased the frequency with which they required their children to speak, and children increased the frequency of their verbalizations in three…

Describes a study of undergraduate students at Pennsylvania State University that was conducted to assess the impact of instructional color coding on visually and verbally oriented tests and on field dependence independence. Use of the GEFT (Group Embedded Figures Test) is discussed, and differences in cognitive processes are considered. (11…

Reading encompasses a wide range of verbal processes, among them such simple verbal processes as word decoding, letter recognition, name retrieval, and semantic access. The question is whether simple verbal processing differences are adequate to account for general reading ability differences. Across different verbal domains and different ages,…

Discussed is use of pictorial aids to develop word problem skills for addition and subtraction of handicapped children. (MC)

This report provides a nontechnical summary of a series of studies from a research project with three major foci: memory storage dynamics, memory retrieval dynamics, and coding in semantic memory. A theory of forgetting was developed, involving time and interference factors. Memory traces have two properties: strength and fragility. Consolidation…