AN INQUIRY (SPECIFIC DISCOVERY) APPROACH TO LEARNING WAS SUBJECTED TO A RIGOROUS TEST AND EVALUATION PROGRAM, INVOLVING ELEMENTARY INSTRUCTION IN THE PHYSICAL SCIENCES. STUDENTS IN THE FOURTH, FIFTH, AND SIXTH GRADES SERVED AS SUBJECTS. EVALUATIVE CRITERIA WERE (1) SCIENCE CONCEPT ACHIEVEMENT, (2) DIVERGENT THINKING OR CREATIVITY, AND (3)…

The selection of wrong answers for multiple choice tests appears not to be blind guessing, as the current theory assumes, but represents systematic choice based upon the ways in which learners extract meaning and solve problems. It appears the departures from "expected" answers arise when the learner interprets the question in a manner different…

A study was conducted to test a method of instruction designed to incorporate communication and reasoning skills into the regular content of liberal arts courses. Eleven instructors teaching in nine liberal arts disciplines were trained in the areas of reading and study skills, writing, speaking and listening, and reasoning. Instructors were…

A study was conducted into the operation of an interactive-compensatory model of reading. Specifically, it examined the development of context-free word recognition skills, their role in contextual reading, and the degree to which one word recognition skill might compensate another. Four word factors were examined: (1) orthographic redundancy (the…

This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The 49 titles deal with a variety of topics, including the following: reading instruction for elementary school children, the significance of the teacher or teacher aide in reading instruction, reading achievement, reading…

This booklet discusses the many psychological factors involved in the learning process. The author offers suggestions on the following problems: (1) the technology of teaching and the psychology of learning; (2) programs and rewards; (3) motivation; (4) learning and behavior control; (5) the role and responsibility of the teacher; (6) standards of…

The role of perceptual organization in motor learning is discussed, the literature is reviewed, and research findings are summarized. Measurement problems are discussed, including observations about motor skill learning. Four experiments are described which compare organized and random movement sequences. It is shown that organization (whether…

Presented are several articles and reviews which are related to science education in the following areas: (1) achievement, mastery, proficiency, competence; (2) personality and the pursuit of science; (3) skill integration, Piaget, and education; (4) recent research grants in the United Kingdom; (5) a listing of theses and dissertations for higher…

Recent studies on schema theory and other concepts related to reading comprehension are discussed in this paper. Noting that the psycholinguistic model of reading views reading as a process of predicting meaning based on the reader's prior knowledge of language, the paper describes recent research that has led to a definition of reading…

This 4-year longitudinal study of logical reasoning found complex interrelationships among different cognitive processes of children ages 6 to 15. Piaget's stage theory is discussed in the introduction, with a focus on the concrete operational stage in middle childhood. In the study, a representative array of logical concept tasks and short-term…

The final report and a general summary of a research project that assessed the developmental differences in children's use of constructive reading strategies are presented in this paper. The five chapters of the final report offer descriptions of separate studies conducted in the following areas: children's metacognitive knowledge about reading;…

IN A RESEARCH STUDY IN SMALL GROUP INQUIRY, AN ANALYSIS WAS MADE OF THE CULTURAL DIFFERENCES AND THEIR INFLUENCE ON THE BEHAVIOR AND LANGUAGE STYLE OF LOWER-CLASS NEGRO AND MIDDLE-CLASS WHITE YOUTHS. ELEVEN INNER-CITY NEGRO GROUPS AND SEVEN SUBURBAN WHITE GROUPS OF 15- TO 19-YEAR-OLD YOUTHS MET SEPARATELY ONCE A WEEK FOR 10 WEEKS. IN ADDITION TO…

A study was conducted to identify types of mental operations of 4- and 5-year-olds and to relate them to the child's age and the educational level of the mother. The sample consisted of 423 white English-speaking children of American parentage, evenly divided by sex and as evenly distributed as possible over the 12-month-age range of 4 to 5 years.…

Learning and retention may be influenced by subtle instructional stimulus characteristics and certain visual memory aptitudes. Ten stimulus characteristics were chosen for study; 50 sequences of programed instructional material were specially written to conform to sampled values of each stimulus characteristic. Seventy-three freshman subjects…

In a test the presence or absence of a "structure" in the individual's cognitive processes of formal operations thinking, 61 fourth, fifth, and sixth grade students were administered three tasks supposedly requiring such a method of thinking. The three tasks were (1) a problem solving task (PS), (2) a chemistry task requiring a certain combination…