In this study 27 third graders and 27 sixth graders were given varying degrees of practice in sorting salient, categorized word lists. The purpose of the practice conditions was to encourage different levels of grouping strategies in a subsequent free recall task using similar categorized materials. Children in a Materials Only condition were…

A study examined students' ability to comprehend consistent or inconsistent text when activating relevant or irrelevant background knowledge. Fifty-five grade six students reading at or above grade level were randomly assigned to one of four treatment groups: activated/consistent, nonactivated/consistent, activated/inconsistent, and…

Differences in children's interpersonal perceptions and in their conceptions of behavior disorders in hypothetical peers were investigated in a sample of 34 boys between the ages of 10 and 13. Two groups of subjects were formed: 17 subjects attended special classes for the emotionally handicapped and were classified as exhibiting conduct problems…

A study was conducted to investigate the peer concepts held by 16 second-grade, 17 fourth-grade, and 17 sixth-grade students. A paired comparisons sociometric procedure was used to obtain children's descriptions of their classmates in the areas of reading, mathematics, drawing, and an athletic skill (running). In addition, the procedure measured…

Describes an instructional experiment aimed at helping sixth-graders sustain reflective thought processes in composition independently. Instruction included modeling of thinking aloud, clue use stimulating self-questioning, and direct strategy instruction emphasizing dialectical synthesis of conflicting ideas. Results indicate gains were made at…

A stratified random sample of 686 elementary and secondary public school students in rural areas of Utah classed as rapidly or not rapidly growing was administered the Mooney Problem Check List. Effects related to rapid or slow community growth were specific to grade level and to problem domains of the check list. (BRR)

Studied viewpoints of 12-year-old Finnish students concerning the relation between man and nature and their own relation toward the natural world. Examined the cognitive level of thought processes, emotional considerations, and experiences shown in pupils' opinions. Found social, socio-economical, ecological, and ethical considerations had greater…

Reports on a study of music listening preferences among undergraduate college music majors, high school musicians in performance groups, and sixth-grade students in eight U.S. sites. Finds instrumental biases among high school and college musicians' preferences for relatively unfamiliar classical music. (CFR)

Reports on a study of the effects of an aural-oral pitch matching training program on aural pitch discrimination among 96 sixth-grade string students. Finds that the students who used the TAP Pitch Master Machine made statistically significant gains in pitch discrimination. (CFR)

The majority of research investigating gender-related differences in problem-solving ability has focused on the product of word problem solving--the problem solution. This paper reports an investigation of potential gender-related effects on sixth-graders of an explicitly stated problem-solving plan. Two versions of the test were given: the…

Two instruments and instructional activities were pilot tested to determine if they could be used in a later evaluation study of a Domain of Cognition model, developed by Robert J. Stahl as an alternative to Bloom's Taxonomy. The model, intended to help educators more effectively plan for, implement, monitor, and evaluate instruction, was proposed…

This research was concerned with the clarification of the role that the external representation process (e.g. drawing) plays in children's solving of complex arithmetic problems. Fourteen children in the 10- to 12-year-old age range were asked to represent and solve five complex arithmetic problems (three with temporal organization of data, two…

This paper describes the development of a sixth-grade "Matter and Molecules" unit using a new curriculum development model based on conceptual change research, the field testing of this unit in 15 classrooms and the field test results. The development process and the resulting unit are contrasted with the unit's predecessor, the "Models of Matter"…

A study examined (1) relationships between background knowledge and reading passage comprehension, (2) the reliability of a passage-specific background knowledge measure used as the knowledge criterion, (3) the effect of a prereading language and concept organizer activity on available background knowledge, and (4) the effect of that prereading…

A study examined the nature of the schematic processes for a story presented in television, text, and radio form and for a story presented to above average and average readers. The story was parsed according to J. M. Mandler and N. S. Johnson's story grammar. Schematic processing was inferred from the pattern of node memorability for the different…