A model for assessing/accrediting prior learning for the achievement of National Vocational Qualifications in Britain uses five evidence factors (authenticity, retention, relevance, quantity, and variety), assigns values to the factors, and assesses the resulting value patterns. (SK)

Describes two strategies (Yes/No...Why? and It Reminds Me Of...) that provide young or poor readers with the prerequisite background knowledge for interpreting a passage. States that these strategies can be used with all types of reading materials and can also be used with nonreaders. (MG)

High school chemistry students' (n=183) applied and theoretical knowledge of dissolution, diffusion, effusion, and states of matter were compared. Study found that students' formal reasoning ability and their preexisting knowledge are associated with their conceptions and use of particulate theory. A significant difference between applied and…

The role of a subject's conceptual knowledge in the procedural task of searching a text for information was studied for 51 college undergraduates in 2 experiments involving knowledge of anatomy. Students with more anatomical information were able to search a text more quickly. Educational implications are discussed. (SLD)

Assesses prior knowledge and involvement in high school readers whose backgrounds would seem to match the possible interpretations of an ambiguous text. Finds that (1) prior knowledge resulting from actual group membership exerted only a modest effect on interpretation; (2) readers' level of involvement predicted text interpretation reliably; and…

Discusses development and implementation of an approach to decoding in which students use words they know to decode those they do not know. Discusses how an analogy approach was implemented in a tutorial setting. Offers guidelines for how the approach can be used in regular classrooms, including whole language classrooms. (RS)

Discussion of informational books for young people focuses on a study of authors of children's science books. Data are reported from authors in the United States, Canada, and Great Britain in four main areas: (1) background in education and experience; (2) science-related hobbies and interests; (3) research techniques; and (4) reasons for writing.…

This article profiles a high school physics teacher who received a grant to conduct research, with his own classes, designed to identify students' preconceptions about the physical world, explore ways teachers can use those preconceptions to teach physical laws, and prepare classroom materials that teachers can use to teach physics. (IAH)

Reports on a study designed to identify the authors of academic library home pages and to investigate the nature of their training and their use of newly-acquired Web-design skills. Considers professional identity, length of service, current job title, prior education, and institutional support. Contains 34 references. (Author/LRW)

This study examined the quality of medical students' confidence estimates in answering questions in bacteriology based on personal knowledge alone and what they retrieved from a factual database in microbiology, in order to determine whether medical students can recognize when an information need has been fulfilled and when it has not. (Author/LRW)

The validity and reliability of methods for assessing nonformal learning are influenced by the type of knowledge being measured, which in turn influences assessment criteria. Satisfactory methods must consider the specific character of nonformal learning. (SK)

Used a modification of Akhtar, Carpenter, and Tomasello's (1996) task involving interpretation of novel nouns to test whether 18- to 28-month-olds' smart word learning derived from general attention and memory processes rather than knowledge about the communicative intents of others. Findings similar to those of Akhtar and colleagues suggest that…

Presents an approach for teaching the multiplication of fractions by helping students build a foundation on the basis of their informal knowledge. Suggests some action research ideas for teachers to try in their classrooms. (ASK)

Explored influence of changes in kindergartners' knowledge about a protagonist on earlier constructed memories of the story. Found that children's story recall was affected by their prior impressions. Following the second knowledge manipulation, children revised story reports consistent with newly acquired impressions, suggesting that they had…

In California, a new proposal would tie student performance on the SAT-9 to merit pay for teachers. However, testing student performance against certain preselected academic standards is not foolproof. The same teaching could bring different results. Students' previous knowledge and parental influences must also be considered. (MLH)