A survey examined the learning needs of 824 nurses working with Canada's Aboriginal persons (369 responses) and compared continuing education needs of these nurses to others working in remote locations. Preferred learning modes, topics, and barriers to learning were identified. (Contains 32 references.) (JOW)

The present study examined if spatial knowledge gained from a virtual environment is affected by the spatial ability of the participant, and whether information can be more efficiently acquired and applied to a physical space when participants are given a display featuring both overhead and first-person visual cues. Three spatial training displays…

This paper discusses the results of a study of 27 college students with deafness that investigated whether cognitive processes are modality dependent in individuals with deafness. The experiment included two separate parts, one composed of shape trials and the other composed of word trials. An initial stimulus was shown on a computer screen for…

Much research has focused on cognitive skills in isolation from daily life and from action. However, memory and thinking in daily life are not separate from, but are part of, doing. This study is based on a theoretical framework that encompasses an integrated account of mind in action. This "activity theory" holds that neither mind as such nor…

Comprehension of film was studied in an ATI (aptitude x treatment interaction) framework which investigated comprehension as a function of the interaction of the stimulation-seeking motive (arousal) and degree of structure in information presented in film. Three levels of organizational coherence of a short film and two levels of the stimulation…

The relationship between conceptual complexity and stimulus saliency was explored in a 3 x 4 factorial design using 144 undergraduates. Levels of complexity were represented by varying the ratio of relevant-to-irrelevant dimensions (1:3, 2:2, and 3:1). The saliency factor varied according to the discriminability between each attribute within…

This study investigated the effect of culture on the cognitive styles of Polynesian Asian, and Caucasian Americans in a multicultural school setting. The study attempted to test the Hill scales of cognitive development to determine if they would be a valid predictor of individual cognitive styles. In addition, the investigation tested the popular…

A study was conducted to test the thesis that teaching word recognition skills in a manner compatible with the learner's auditory or visual modality preference would facilitate beginning reading instruction. A group of 62 students in two first grade classrooms was studied; one class stressed the presentation of words as whole units, the other…

In order to determine whether there are developmental differences in the handling of the modality attribute 32 children from each of grades two and six and 32 college students were presented with a video-taped mixed-modality list of 32 first grade words. Subjects were asked to recall the words, to identify the presentation modality of each word on…

The impact of age effects on nonverbal memory for auditory or tactual patterns has been largely neglected in research studies. The effects of age on nonverbal memory were investigated by comparing subjects (N=120), divided by age decades into six groups (N=20), through tests using visual, auditory, and tactual items which were resistant to verbal…

A study was conducted to investigate the ability of children to determine meanings of derived words that have undergone a pronunciation shift while retaining a close orthographic relationship to their base words. A researcher-designed test was constructed using derived words that had their base word included in a "core list" of words at or below…

This study explored some ways that cognitive style (different individual patterns of perceiving, memorizing, organizing and utilizing stimuli) might influence intellectual achievements. It was specifically concerned with cognitive tempo--the individual's tendency to be either slow and accurate (reflective) or fast and inaccurate (impulsive). A…

In an attempt to clarify the phenomena of psychological "process" variables, as applied to children with learning disabilities, a study was made of sensory modality preferences in 64 kindergarten and 64 first grade children. Ss were given a battery of seven measures grouped under the following four headings: standardized test approach; controlled…

Reported by the Great Lakes Region Special Education Instructional Materials Center are field test evaluation of 18 auditory instructional materials for use with handicapped children who learn best through the auditory modality. Among materials evaluated are a taped program on use of the abacus and a cassette audiotape on bird habits and sounds.…

The Learning Style Inventory (LSI) was administered to students assigned to "Above-Average,""Average," and "Below-Average" social studies classes. Results on the self-rating LSI indicated differences do exist among the three ability groups in each of the four stimuli that comprise learning style. (Author/SJL)