Reviews studies on the relationship between task performance and information searching by end-users, focusing on information searching in electronic environments and information retrieval systems. Topics include task analysis; task characteristics; search goals; modeling information searching; modeling search goals; information seeking behavior;…

Looks at systematicity from the perspective of two putative discourse universals related to topic continuity that have been addressed separately in past studies of article acquisition. Examines how these discourse universals account for patterns of article use and nonuse in narratives written by Finnish- and Swedish-speaking learners of English.…

Argues that crossing the boundaries between sociolinguistics and second language acquisition (SLA) is essential to both fields of study. Specifically, data collected in an investigation of the SLA of copula choice by 77 English-speaking learners of Spanish are examined in terms of similarities to data collected in studies of language change.…

Reports an experimental study of the differential effects of premodified input, internationally modified input, and modified output on the comprehension of directions in a listen-and-do task and the acquisition of new words embedded in the directions. (Author/VWL)

Three studies that examine the development of phonological awareness in monolingual and bilingual children K-2. In the first study, monolingual and bilingual children performed equally well on a complex task requiring phoneme substitution. The second replicated these results and demonstrated a significant role for the language of literacy…

Examines form-similar nouns in early lexical development of a bilingual German/English child, as well as effects of form similarity in picture naming and translation in two groups of German/English children. Results show an effect of form similarity in early lexical development; form similar words occurred frequently in the beginning of the…

Hypothesized perceived general self-efficacy of students (N=87) performing job simulation task to moderate relationship between task preview exposure and task performance and between task preview exposure and task self-efficacy. Used Favorable and Realistic task previews. Found significant General Self-Efficacy X Task Preview condition interaction…

Describes how instructional designers can use a combination of job task/function analysis and job competence assessment to construct a performance profile for managers that identifies characteristics of a successful performer. An ideal role micro approach is explained, and the design of training programs based on the performance profile is…

Description of a management strategy for assessing performance goals called Job Task Systems Management (JTSM) focuses on a study of inspector jobs at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The adaptation of business planning strategies to the government sector is discussed, and a job and task analysis is described. (LRW)

Examined process mediating the effect of positive mood on performance of a cognitive task. Positive mood subjects performed significantly worse on a set of syllogisms than control subjects. Results are consistent with accounts arguing that people in positive moods expend less effort. (JBJ)

This study found that categorization strategy training resulted in increased performance on unidimensional, bidimensional, and tridimensional sorting tasks by 4 males (ages 12-16) with autism. Three subjects also showed improvements on generalization probes and maintenance of performance. (Author/JDD)

Presented a categorization of types of science education research, their possible contributions to cognitive science, and the potential of results from cognitive science for enriching the science education research accounts. Explored the relationship of an example of cognitive work to cognitive science. (15 references) (Author/JRH)

Schools can develop worker traits, behaviors, values, and attitudes in students by taking the view that school is a workplace and learners are workers. This concept involves analysis of classroom work functions and tasks, worker characteristics, physical demands, environmental conditions, and interest in, involvement in, and performance of work…

An experimental study examined the comprehension of sentences containing concessive connectives, considered from an argumentative-conclusive point of view, in 8- to 10-year-old French children (n=24). Two tasks were used: (1) subjects had to choose between opposite preceding contexts of sentences and (2) conclusions that could be drawn from the…

Changes in children's understanding of experimentation are examined. Sixteen fifth and sixth graders worked on two experimentation problems consistent with an engineering and science model, respectively. The science model was associated with broader exploration, more selectiveness about evidence interpreted, and greater attention to establishing…