Presents the results of an experiment that evaluated the efficiency of analogy in the conceptual restructuring of a science topic. The experiment involved a fifth-grade class studying water and heat flow. Discovered that analogy can act as an effective trigger for restructuring knowledge. (MJP)

Addresses the central issue of test biases in college entrance examinations. Utilizes differential item functioning analysis (DIF) to compare types of questions, fields of knowledge, and male and female responses in Turkish entrance examinations. Reveals intermittent biases and suggests the tests be used more for assessment than selection. (MJP)

Reports research that examined the relationship between students' views of family and school and the students' academic ability and achievement. Explains that 516 Australian children were studied at ages 11 and 16. Identifies a correlation between student perceptions and their school-related outcomes. (SG)

Examines didactic interventions and claims their impact on pupil behavior aids the study of cognitive processes. Studies problem solving in teaching mathematics. Examines the functions of tutorial interventions in surface features and instability of representation. Finds tutorial interventions demonstrate a substantial increase in performance…

Examines problem-solving techniques used by students in French schools by testing 370 children in grades 6-9. Finds a high degree of variability in procedure selection among those tested. Results show the ability to use a standard procedure is sufficient for solving test problems. Recommends stressing cognitive flexibility. (NL)

Compares primary school pupils who have repeated two years of schooling with a normally progressing control group. Uses Harter's scales to measure self-concept and self-worth. Finds no difference between repeating and nonrepeating children in self-worth or between girls and boys. Finds no evidence of systematic loss of self-worth. (NL)

Presents results of an experiment seeking relationships between motor activities and more central language production processes. Concludes that the same motor program was used for occurrences of repeated morphemes in the experiment. Reports that nonrepeated morphemes were recovered from verbal memory while the preceding repeated morpheme was being…

Describes a Canadian study attempting to relate the motivating power of interest to children's writing performance by supplementing background knowledge with topic relevant information. Reports that children with tutorial support on high interest subjects performed no better than others. Concludes that the motivational power of interesting topics…

Presents a critical overview of trends in research on writing skills. Defines criteria for the studies based on current cognitive writing models. Includes treatments designed to change writer activity by influencing knowledge and cognitive functions. Discusses acquisition of knowledge or expert skills, interaction with other writers, and computer…

Presents results of a German study distinguishing between effects of knowledge on writing and re-effects of writing on knowledge. Reports that knowledge primarily affects the content domain of text, especially topic relatedness and logical structure of text, but not the linguistic domain. Concludes that both oral and written verbalization enables…

Presents an Italian study of children assigned to write two persuasive appeals for funds. Reports that improvement on the second request was related to request features demonstrated between the two assignments. Concludes that training did have some effect, but both control and experimental groups improved in their second performances. (DK)

Presents a study in which children considered alternative continuations of a text through a computer program. Reports that subjects were to monitor text production and correct coherence problems. Discusses reason levels: (1) implicit, local reasoning; (2) attention to global text characteristics; and (3) considerations on the function of…

Reports on a study of written protocols by 147 children, ages 7-14. Comparisons were made between those who were asked to debate an issue (formal discourse) and those who were asked to defend an opinion (natural discourse). Finds that older children were able to use different structures for argumentation and write longer arguments. (CFR)

Reports on a study of 22 pairs of third-grade students and 22 pairs of seventh-grade students who worked on a variety of computer-based tasks. Finds that older students were more likely to focus on internal pattern construction than remaining oriented toward external characteristics of the patterns. (CFR)

Asserts that novice writers have little control over the composition process. Reports on 72 fourth graders who worked individually and in pairs with a computer-based composition program. Finds that students with better prior composition skills working individually benefited most from computer prompts. (CFR)