Seventy-three subjects tested at grade 4 were retested at grade 7 on five tasks. In addition, 138 seventh graders were tested on these tasks for the first time. Using performance at grade 4 to predict performance on different tasks at grade 7 often was more satisfactory than using seventh-grade predictors. (Author/WY)

Article describes a recent experimental course entitled Introduction to Humanities, the Arts and Social Science," as part of UCLA's Engineering Development Program. (IR)

An incidental teaching procedure (using natural opportunities for instruction) was more effective than a question-labeling procedure (using open questions) in increasing the rate and variety of two-word requests produced by a severely language delayed preschooler during free play. Rate of spontaneous production was lower than expected. (CL)

The purpose of this research was to examine developmental changes in the knowledge about what variables affect performance on the incidental learning task. Kindergarteners, second graders, fifth graders, and college students indicated on a rating scale how many animals a hypothetical person would remember under easy and difficult levels of each…

Type I incidental learning (in which Ss are exposed to stimulus materials without instructions to learn, and then Ss' retention is unexpectedly tested) of 112 educable mentally retarded children (6-13 years old) was investigated. (Author/CL)

The recognition memory of eight-, ten-, and twelve-year-old children (n-108) was tested using an incidental learning technique. The children were required to categorize a set of word stimuli according to either a structural (presence or absence of the letter A in the word) or a semantic (identification of the word as the name of an animal or a…

Identifies definitions and types of informal learning. Examines issues such as the utility of informal learning, the processes involved, and the lack of methods to assess the quality of learning acquired informally. (SK)

Thirty learning-disabled and 30 nonhandicapped intermediate grade children were assessed on memory performance for stimulus words, which were presented with congruent and noncongruent rhyming words and semantically congruent and noncongruent sentence frames. Both groups performed significantly better on words encoded using deep level congruent…

This study, involving 10 adults with dyslexia and 11 controls, found that controls differentiated between real and false traffic signs better than subjects did and that there was a significant correlation between traffic sign recognition and driving experience for controls but not for subjects. Results are interpreted in terms of a deficit in…

Provides a concrete example of the use of successful incidental learning techniques in the classroom to improve science content instruction. (LZ)

The Employability Skills Profile, critical work abilities identified by Canadian employers, was rated by 24 secondary teachers in Ontario. Personal management skills were rated most important, followed by academic and teamwork skills. Teaching of these skills was informal--absorbed through classroom policies and management practices. (SK)

Previously collected data on "incoherent" episodes of pupil-pupil discussion are examined in a study of mathematical learning. They raise general points about mathematics classroom discourse and indicate the importance of understanding children's ostensibly incoherent exchanges. (28 references) (Author/LB)

Informal and incidental learning are based on learning from experience, embedded in organizational context, focused on action, governed by nonroutine conditions, concerned with tacit dimensions, delimited by the nature of the task, and enhanced by proactivity, critical reflection, and creativity. (SK)

Comparison for memory for spatial location of 30 persons with and 30 persons without mental retardation found the control group recalled more intentionally learned than incidentally learned locations. The experimental group performed better after incidental learning than after intentional learning and scored as highly as controls on incidental…