Two visually impaired children, aged 8 and 10, appeared to have severe difficulty in recognizing faces. After assessment, it became apparent that only one had unusually poor facial recognition skills. After training, which included matching face photographs, schematic faces, and digitized faces, there was no evidence of any improvement.…

An analysis of questionnaires completed by 94 partially sighted children and their parents attempted to identify the visual environmental adaptation problems (VEAPs) of children in regular classrooms. Significant VEAPs were found in classroom tasks, in tasks that required the resolution of fine detail, and in some mobility tasks. (Author/DB)

Discusses using educational and popular films and television for history instruction. Argues that students need training to see the bias built into film making through the editing process. Urges that critical thinking must be developed in students to make use of mass media coverage of historical and current events as teaching tools. (DK)

Spatial aptitude tests designed for elementary school children were given to third-grade students from both suburban and rural schools in Pennsylvania. Results were scrutinized by the declared favorite subjects of the participants and organized by gender. Students who preferred science and mathematics did better on spatial tests than students who…

Examined sex differences in perceptual and cognitive abilities and in reading skills among 922 first graders in the United States, India, and Taiwan. Found that girls scored significantly higher than boys on reading skills, visual memory, directionality, and ability to track nonsymbolic figures. Urban children outscored rural children on four…

Elementary and middle school children (n=105) completed measures of reading achievement and cognitive abilities. Factor analysis produced three empirically and theoretically derived factors, auditory processing, visual processing/speed, and memory. Together the three factors combined predicted 61 to 85% of the variance associated with different…

We report on a longitudinal study designed to assess possible sex differences in math achievement, math ability, and math-related tasks during the primary school age years. Participants included over 200 children from one public school district. Annual assessments included measures of math ability, math calculation achievement scores, rapid naming…

Educators can identify children's strengths early on and gain insight into each student's unique abilities by using the numerous ideas and informal assessments in this exciting guide. Gifted and talented specialist Ann Maccagnano offers K-8 teachers challenging activities and engaging lessons to develop and nurture gifted learners' talents.…

Purpose: Research reveals that prenatal alcohol exposure and child trauma (i.e., abuse, neglect, sexual abuse) can have deleterious effects on child development across multiple domains. This study analyzed the impact on childhood neurodevelopment of prenatal alcohol exposure and postnatal traumatic experience compared to postnatal traumatic…

This volume of 12 lessons--each one written by either a medical or a mental health professional--provides expert information on a variety of medical and psychological issues in rehabilitative counseling. The lessons, each of which concludes with a few multiple-choice questions, are as follows: (1) "Rehabilitation of the Seriously Mentally…

This guide is intended for teachers, parents, and community workers in many countries and provides concrete advice on meeting the needs of children with specific learning disabilities. The guide begins with a definition of learning disabilities and identifies seven areas of disability. It then considers in more detail five areas concerned with…

This study investigated the premise that disordered temporal order perception in retarded readers can be seen in the serial processing of both nonverbal auditory and visual information, and examined whether such information processing deficits relate to level of reading ability. The adult subjects included 20 in the dyslexic group, 12 in the…

The role of color used in graphics in facilitating recall of verbal material was studied in a follow-up to previous research on the use of a color code in graphics presentations. An analysis of variance for repeated measures was used to test the hypothesis that significant interactions and differences would occur. Independent variables manipulated…

The Mem-ExSpan Accelerative Cognitive Training System (MESACTS) is described as a cognitive skills training program for schools, businesses, and industry. The program achieves extraordinary academic results in reading and mathematics with 1 semester of input 4 days a week for 30 minutes a day. Intensive versions of the program accelerate…

This report describes an interactive video program designed to help college biology students with their abilities to visually discriminate between instructional images, and to think critically about those images. A brief discussion of interactive video technology is provided, including details about videodisks, CD-ROM databases, computer software,…