The measurement of online self-regulation processes is a very important issue and in this rejoinder to Ainley and Patrick (this issue) I am arguing that including measures of metacognitive experiences, in conjunction with measures of other affective experiences, in various phases of task processing can increase the reliability and validity of…

This paper reports a study in which Iranian EFL female students' think aloud protocols were analyzed to find out what knowledge sources informed them as they tried to make lexical inference when reading an English text. The study also intended to find out if students' level of their L2 proficiency would affect the pattern of their use of the…

This study explores the mathematical problem-solving process of trainee teachers in a teachers' training institute. This research adopts a constructivist perspective that views learning mathematics as a process of constructing meaningful representation and knowledge as being constructed by the individual. The research methodology employs the case…

A multiple baseline design across participants was used to investigate the effects of reciprocal questioning strategy instruction delivered in cooperative pairs on the question generation and responding of children with autism spectrum disorder. Three children with autism spectrum disorder and nine general education peers participated in the…

Age-related changes in the use of verbal processes for the efficient switching between tasks were investigated in 5-year-old children (N = 32, M age = 5.9 years) and 9-year-old children (N = 32, M age = 9.4 years). Task switching was assessed by means of a cued switching paradigm to examine two switching components: (a) to maintain and select and…

This study examines the role of writing in learning scientific principles through analogy. Seventy-two university students observed two demonstrations concerning one of three topics: buoyant force of a fluid, projectile motion or forces internal to a system. Each composed an analogy on one of the topics through speaking-only, writing-only, or…

Twenty-seven middle school English learners participated in a study to determine the efficacy of the Think-Aloud Strategy, one of several metacognitive strategies created to help students strategically negotiate appropriate meaning from text. Students were grouped by level of English-language proficiency and were administered a reading…

This book examines the "think aloud method," which asks people to think aloud while solving a problem so that the resulting protocol can then be analyzed to answer questions about problem solving behavior. The method is presented in detail in the book, along with examples. The book finds that the method is useful both for psychological…

This paper details a study of knowledge-building activities in the domain of computer software. Thirty-six adults--evenly split among beginning, intermediate, and advanced knowledge levels--were videotaped while they attempted to learn a common spreadsheet package. Subjects were asked to think aloud while learning. Each knowledge building activity…

An exploratory study investigated how writers represent their task to themselves before beginning to write. Using data from verbal protocols, the initial plans of 12 writers (5 experts and 7 student writers) who were working on an expository writing task were examined. The protocols were coded for types of planning. Independent measures of the…

Noting that recent issues of several scholarly journals have contained criticism of protocol analysis and the use of verbal reports in the analysis of the writing process, this paper examines some of the charges made and then explores the implications of the criticisms. Specific charges addressed in the paper include the following: (1) protocols…

An order form used in a university printing office was evaluated, redesigned, and tested to determine whether the original or the revised version could be completed more quickly and accurately. Two types of subjects were used: six "experienced" subjects who had previously used the old version of the form, and six "novice" subjects who had never…

Claims recent research involving premature editing--thinking aloud for the study--is too narrow in scope to allow for basic writers whose writing processes do not resemble the model. Using eight basic writers produces evidence to support the claim that many or most basic writers can write without editing prematurely.(NH)

Looks at the nature of introspective accounts and the usefulness of such accounts in studies of the composing process. Concludes that retrospective journal accounts are a rich source of information because they permit consideration of the complex context in which composing occurs. (FL)

A student's understanding of a problem before he or she solves it is a critical component of successful problem solving. This understanding is based on how a problem is represented; that is, whether a problem is understood in terms of principles or solution methods or whether the focus is on features that are irrelevant to its solution. In this…