A study investigated whether very young children use the concept of mutual exclusivity to make an initial link between a word and an object, and whether its use is linked to age or intelligence differences. Three groups of normally-developing children, aged 1 to 3 years, and three groups of older, mildly retarded children with similar levels of…

The Transparent Computer simulation was developed to address the educational system's need to provide the basic skills and knowledge that are required to understand computers and interact with them. Intended to be integrated in the computer literacy program in elementary and junior high schools, the Transparent Computer is an example of an…

The difficulties that younger students experience in understanding concepts related to the use of variables in computer programming are examined through descriptions of two studies: (1) detailed case studies of six highly intelligent children--three fourth graders and three sixth graders--who learned to program in BASIC during 60 hours of…

Conceptual obstacles which inhibit scientific understanding are examined in this monograph. Perspectives are offered on theoretical aspects, research directions, and educational implications on the problem area known as the critical barriers phenomenon. Papers included are: "Nature of the Problem" (by David Hawkins), which describes the…

As part of a wider study of metalinguistic skills, a study examined the metalinguistic awareness of the concept "word" of adults at different literacy levels. Subjects, 60 adult monolingual English speakers enrolled in adult education classes, were divided into three groups according to reading level. Data were gathered through a…

Theories of cognitive processing suggest specific effects result from different elaboration treatments. To test this assumption, 125 high school students were randomly assigned to read concept materials containing adjunct elaborations that varied by elaboration type (mnemonics, schematics, or metaphors) and presentation mode (verbal or visual). To…

Since there is a lack of studies that reveal school age children's oral competence in story production, a five-year longitudinal descriptive study was undertaken to determine a child's sense of story as revealed by children's oral generation of stories. The specific story elements analyzed were sources of their stories, narrative form, formal…

Semiotics is the science of signs and the structures of signs within which meanings emerge. The process through which these sign structures are built up is called semiosis. Courses commonly taught as foundational to teacher trainers should be imbued with a specific semiotic emphasis. At a general level, teachers may be introduced to the notion of…

Two studies investigated the validity of the Cultivation Hypothesis, which holds that the more people view television the more they will see the world as mean and violent. Specifically, the study examined whether three psychological variables affected the relationship. The variables are (1) Magic Window, the degree to which a person believes…

Students in grades four, five, and six who represented three classifications of ability were compared for their conceptualizations, attributions, and attitudes about school grading practices. Intellectually gifted, learning disabled, and normally achieving students were assessed. Significant differences were found among the three groups,…

There are at least four distinct uses of the term "competence" in speech communication: (1) to refer to some set of standards used in evaluating aspects of communication processes, (2) to refer to some set of objects to be evaluated, (3) to refer to a method for evaluating aspects of communication against some standard, and (4) to refer to a…

Although traditional learning theories are based on a demonstrative view of cognition, human beings tend to reason both demonstratively and dialectically. To examine the dialectical theory five studies were conducted. In the first study subjects rated words that could be used as personality descriptors for likability and subsequently learned them…

Teachers should be more aware of the function of place (an individual's physical and social environment) in the formation of the self in writing. By analyzing literature one can observe how the writer reflects upon the importance of a sense of place. Another kind of analysis is that of the writer in his or her environment, including the social and…

This paper argues that the most significant trend in applied linguistics is the emergence of the field as a generic discipline, involving several subareas, all characterised by the aim of developing theoretical and empirical studies of language as a key element in real world problems. Various subsidiary trends are apparent including numerous…

Twenty-six test variables for psychological differentiation and cognitive abilities were factor analyzed with a view towards replication of certain factors of perceptual and conceptual differentiation and related these factors to cognitive abilities. (Author)