Previous research identified that studying texts in a second language (L2) as opposed to the first (L1) results in substantially weaker recall. We hypothesized that use of advance organizers (AOs) might attenuate this L2 recall cost by supporting L2 users in the construction of more solid memory representations. One hundred Dutch-English…

Why the brain is the most incredible network of information processing and interpretation in the body as we learn things is the scope of the Cognitive Learning Theories. When we use the word "learning", we usually mean "to think using the brain". Therefore, the basic concept of learning is the main viewpoint in the Cognitive…

The goal of this study is to examine the comprehension of global causal and temporal relations between events that are represented in single hypertext documents. In two experiments we examined how reading sequences of hypertext nodes affects the establishment of event relations and how this process can be supported by advanced organizers that…

Education should be made painless and the teaching must be made effective. Teaching is an activity, which is designed and performed for multiple objectives, in terms of changes in student behaviours. Models of teaching are just a blue print designed in advance for providing necessary structure and direction to the teacher for realizing the…

According to research in educational psychology, advance organizers lead to better learning and recall of information. In this research, the authors explored advance organizers from a business perspective, where larger documents are read under time pressure. Graphic and verbal advance organizers were manipulated into six versions of an advisory…

Data indicated that children recalled and understood stories better when the title of the story they were reading informed them of the story setting. (DB)

Two experiments involving 139 college students investigated how text memory was influenced by organizational signaling devices. Signals frequently did not affect how much was recalled from the text, but they did systematically affect what was remembered, supporting a hypothesis that signals aid in construction of a topic structure representation.…

Educable retarded (64) and nonretarded (64) subjects (mean age 15 years) heard two stories. After each story, performance was assessed on recall and comprehension. All Ss were randomly assigned to one of four treatments: (1)knowledge (Ss were told concepts critical to processing each story); (2)purpose statements (Ss were guided in organizing…

Investigates the impact of underlining and adjunct questioning in text recall for fifth grade students. Results suggest that for 10 year-old readers adjunct post questions and underlining may hinder performance. (RAO)

In three experiments, subjects listened to a taped lecture on the topic of exposure meters for 35-mm cameras and were tested after one, two, or three presentations. Results suggest that repetition produces both a quantitative increase in amount learned and a qualitative change in the reader's processing strategy. (Author/LMO)

Whether preview and recall sentences affected readers' memory of text material in separate chapters was studied in seven experiments using a total of 130 undergraduate students. Hypotheses for the causes of the beneficial effects of preview signals and recall sentences on memory are postulated. (SLD)

Using 40 university students, the author studied the effect of a summary on recall of a reading passage. Four conditions were compared: beginning summary on same page as main passage, beginning summary on separate page, end summary, and no summary. Subjects using end and separate page summaries demonstrated greater recall. (SJL)

In experiment 1, 40 younger and 40 older adults used advance organizers with a 1500-word passage. Experiment 2 replicated the test with adults of limited verbal ability. Advance organizers were helpful only in restricted circumstances. They appeared to help those with limited ability to comprehend detail. (SK)

Two experiments investigated to what extent schema activation is involved in any facilitative effect that headings may have on multiple-choice test performance following the reading of a passage. In the first experiment, 1,116 college students read a 1,760-word passage on human sexuality with headings either present or absent. An analysis of the…

Investigated the theory that meaningful learning of new material could be facilitated through the use of relevant subsuming concepts (organizers) presented prior to the message. Hypothesized that these advance organizers would be superior to introductory overviews. No overall advance organizer superiority was found. (PD)