Examines whether exploratory talk in small groups can help students assimilate new information on complex topics more effectively than can participation in a class discussion or lecture. Finds that, of the three treatments, small group discussion is more effective in improving the students' knowledge as they prepared to write and in the quality of…

This study of 30 gifted and 30 average secondary level readers assessed their reading processing strategies using think-aloud protocols. Gifted readers used such strategies as rereading, inferring, evaluating, predicting, and relating to content area, whereas average readers exhibited word pronouncing concern and inaccurate summarizing.…

Reviews two major theories of cognitive development based on Perry's Developmental Process and the Wellesley Study, and offers examples and suggestions for their application in academic library instruction. Learning strategies that respond to differences in levels of cognitive abilities are described, and the role of faculty who request…

Although children with moderate to significant disabilities participate in regular education, they often attend a school outside their own neighborhood, thereby limiting the effects of mainstreaming. The La Grange Area (Illinois) Department of Special Education has experimented with various learning strategies to facilitate inclusion and imparts…

This study investigated the tendency of deaf children (ages 6-13) not to spontaneously use active memory strategies such as rehearsal. Comparison of 38 deaf and 39 hearing students found that deaf students compensated for less effective rehearsal strategies by capitalizing on unique spatial features of the task. (Author/DB)

Across 4 experiments, 121 college students and 80 Spanish-English bilingual members of the university community read narrative or expository texts and answered comprehension questions. Manipulating intervals between readings, language, and the activity between the readings indicates that all these variables influence whether a repeated reading…

Focuses on a content analysis of learning logs kept by preservice teachers in an educational psychology course at an open admission university. Finds differences among strategy use of successful, unsuccessful, and improving students. Develops profiles of each category. Discusses implications for strategy instruction. (RS)

The Approaches to Studying Inventory (ASI) measures orientations to learning in higher education. Two studies used different forms of the ASI to investigate possible gender variation in approaches to studying. No consistent evidence of significant difference between men and women on individual items, subscales, or learning orientations was found.…

A meta-analysis of 268 studies suggested a deficit in subjects with mental retardation (compared to controls without mental retardation) across 12 categories of learning tasks, a relative deficit which remained, after training, across 7 categories of strategies. When strategy training was evaluated, the effect size was 0.701, which compares…

Discussed is the method of substitution of variables within the framework of precalculus level extremum problems, both maximum and minimum. Many examples with graphical representations are provided. (JJK)

This article reports on a reading comprehension instructional technique which uses reciprocal-like teaching formats in groups and semantic mapping to make text structures apparent. The procedure significantly affected recall of expository ideas and knowledge of comprehension strategies with 28 intermediate grade students with learning…

Discusses the use of computers in educational programs for school-age children in out-of-school settings. Principles for organizing educational activities in which computers are used as tools are discussed; examples of community-based programs are described; and suggestions for funding and staff development are offered. (eight references) (LRW)

In study involving three experiments, high and low metamemory children aged five to seven were differentiated according to metamemory scores. Results showed children's performance differed significantly when demand of memory task fell within their knowledge of memory, and when task required more sophisticated strategy; children's ability to…

Reviews responses of English-as-a-Second-Language students to a questionnaire regarding their reaction to using a computer for language learning, and attempts to identify the strategies they used as well as some general issues related to computer-assisted language learning. (CB)

Describes a pilot project conducted at Queensborough Community College which involved teaching summarization skills to students in a required, no-credit reading course. Concludes that summarizing is a viable strategy for improving reading comprehension and recall, while acknowledging the difficulties encountered by both the students and their…