Showing papers in "Educational Psychologist in 1982"
TL;DR: In this article, the authors present a prescriptive analysis of the kinds of knowledge and procedures leading to effective human problem solving in a quantitative science such as physics such as chemistry.
Abstract: This article presents a prescriptive analysis of the kinds of knowledge and procedures leading to effective human problem solving in a quantitative science such as physics. The knowledge about such a science, explicated in the case of mechanics, specifies special descriptive concepts and relations described at various levels of abstractness, is organized hierarchically, and is accompanied by explicit guidelines specifying when and how this knowledge is to be applied. General problem‐solving procedures, to be used in conjunction with such domain‐specific knowledge, specify how initially to describe and analyze any problem so as to facilitate its subsequent solution; how to search for a solution by methods of constraint satisfaction used together with heuristic methods for decomposing problems and exploring decisions; and how to assess whether the resulting solution is correct and reasonably optimal. The preceding model of effective human problem solving is compared with some relevant observations and with ...
232 citations
TL;DR: The utilization of cognitive psychological theory and findings from research to inform the design of instruction is illustrated in this article, where the authors demonstrate that students' pre-instructional world knowledge is often logically antagonistic to the principles of Newtonian mechanics taught in introductory physics.
Abstract: The utilization of cognitive psychological theory and findings from research to inform the design of instruction is illustrated in this paper Physics learning studies demonstrate that students' pre‐instructional world knowledge is often logically antagonistic to the principles of Newtonian mechanics taught in introductory physics Under these conditions psychological theory predicts that learning will be inhibited, a prediction consistent with both the experiences of physics teachers and the results of empirical investigation Informed by cognitive research on problem solving, semantic memory, and knowledge acquisition, instruction has been designed to encourage the reconciliation of world knowledge and physics content among beginning physics students
191 citations
TL;DR: This article found that low ability students typically like more permissive instructional methods, apparently because they allow them to maintain a "low profile" so that their failures are not as visible, which may explain the negative correlations between achievement and enjoyment in instructional settings.
Abstract: There is evidence that negative correlations between student achievement and their enjoyment of instructional methods exist under certain circumstances. In aptitude‐treatment interaction (ATI) studies where two or more methods are allowed to interact with student aptitudes to predict enjoyment and achievement, it appears that students often report enjoying the method from which they learn the least. Selected ATI studies are reviewed, and an explanation is suggested which may account for the negative correlations between achievement and enjoyment in instructional settings. It appears that students make inaccurate judgments about the amount of effort they will have to expend to achieve maximum learning outcomes. Low ability students typically report liking more permissive instructional methods, apparently because they allow them to maintain a “low profile” so that their failures are not as visible. However, in order to experience maximum achievement low ability students require less permissive methods which...
146 citations
TL;DR: The Writer's Workbench as mentioned in this paper analyzes English prose and suggest improvements, detecting split infinitives, errors in spelling and punctuation, overly long sentences, wordy phrases, and passive sentences.
Abstract: This article describes the Writer's Workbench programs, which analyze English prose and suggest improvements. Some limited data on the use of the Writer's Workbench and its acceptance are also presented. The Writer's Workbench system runs under the UNIX™ Operating System, and includes programs to: (a) proofread, (b) comment on stylistic features of text, and (c) provide reference information about the English language. Among other writing faults, the programs detect split infinitives, errors in spelling and punctuation, overly long sentences, wordy phrases, and passive sentences.
85 citations
TL;DR: The authors identify two broad categories of discourse processing for children's story production and comprehension: regulating processes access language structures, translating conceptual structure into a text for production, and regulating construction of the conceptual structure for comprehension.
Abstract: Cognitive processes involved in literacy tasks are considered from a theoretical viewpoint that develops a unified account for both discourse production and comprehension. This approach identifies two broad categories of discourse processing. Framing processes produce a conceptual structure, or frame, for a text. Regulating processes access language structures, translating conceptual structure into a text for production, and regulating construction of the conceptual structure for comprehension. The approach leads to an analysis of constraints that apply to discourse production and comprehension tasks and to a methodology based on propositional analysis of texts for investigating discourse processes on such tasks. Preliminary results of research on children's story production and comprehension indicate that framing processes are common to both types of tasks.
65 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, three possible outcomes of coaching having different implications for college performance are discussed: genuine improvements in the abilities measured by the test resulting in commensurate increases in test scores; enhanced test taking sophistication (item familiarization, guessing, pacing) resulting in increased test scores that are more accurate assessments of ability; and, heightened test-taking artifice (stratagems and answer-selection tricks) leading in inaccurate assessment of ability.
Abstract: Controversies over coaching for scholastic aptitude tests include disputes over the meaning of scholastic aptitude, over the meaning of coaching, over the nature of the fundamental research questions, over the adequacy of the empirical evidence for coaching effectiveness, over the possible implications of effective coaching for student performance and for test validity, and over the consequent ethical imperatives for educational and testing practice. Three possible outcomes of coaching having different implications for college performance are discussed — genuine improvements in the abilities measured by the test resulting in commensurate increases in test scores; enhanced test‐taking sophistication (item familiarization, guessing, pacing) resulting in increased test scores that are more accurate assessments of ability; and, heightened test‐taking artifice (stratagems and answer‐selection tricks) resulting in increased test scores that are inaccurately high assessments of ability. A framework for gauging t...
63 citations
TL;DR: For both experts and novices, writing is viewed as a primarily assimilative process, the difficulty of which is largely determined by goals the writer imposes on the activity as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: Writing, for both experts and novices, is viewed as a primarily assimilative process, the difficulty of which is largely determined by goals the writer imposes on the activity. Novices assimilate w...
46 citations
TL;DR: The authors explored the process of writing from three perspectives: writing as a communicative act, writing as an active role of the reader, writing in the context of a taxonomy of communicative acts, and writing as decomposable process whose product must still fulfill an overall communicative function.
Abstract: This article explores the process of writing from three perspectives The first sees writing as a communicative act The observation that to write is to communicate, though commonplace, has major, and sometimes surprising, implications for a theory of writing It forces us to focus on the active role of the reader and leads us to an emphasis on the audience in choosing tasks for beginning writers The second perspective sees writing in the context of a taxonomy of communicative acts We explore the differences between writing and participating in a conversation, and discuss the theoretical and practical implications of these differences The third perspective focuses on writing as a decomposable process whose product must still fulfill an overall communicative function To this end, we consider various subprocesses of writing — discovering and manipulating ideas and generating text at different structural levels The three perspectives suggest a number of questions for research on writing
31 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, a self-evaluation maintenance model is proposed to predict three variables: relevance, performance, and closeness of comparison to others in the classroom, which is based on a selective review of the literature and some implications for educators.
Abstract: According to a recent self‐evaluation maintenance model, three variables — one's relative level of performance in school, the relevance of school to one's self‐definition, and the psychological closeness of comparison to others in the classroom — act in concert to affect self‐evaluation. By assuming that individuals behave so as to maximize self‐evaluation, knowledge of any two variables can be used to make predictions regarding behavior on the third. These predictions are spelled out for relevance, performance, and closeness. Associated with each prediction is a selective review of the literature and some implications for educators.
21 citations
TL;DR: Within a general framework of structure‐of‐text research, a new definition of readability is proposed, based on three textual variables: structure, “texture,” and informational density of text, which is described in general terms.
Abstract: Within a general framework of structure‐of‐text research, a new definition of readability is proposed, based on three textual variables: structure, “texture,” and informational density of text. For structure, three kinds of superstructures and three categories of sectional structures are described, and various combinations of these are placed on a gradient of difficulty. For “texture,” or explicitness, a continuum is sketched. Informational density is described in general terms. Empirical evidence for each of the proposed variables is reviewed. The interactions of reader and textual variables in the act of comprehension are discussed, the reader variables being world knowledge and ability to use learning strategies. A number of hypotheses for future research on readability are presented, and implications for teaching are suggested.
18 citations
TL;DR: A case is made for repeated-measures experiments and particularly single-subject designs over randomized group studies as discussed by the authors, in that they take advantage of psychological "context" or "contrast" effects and provide functional relationships that best answer the kinds of research questions in which educational researchers are interested.
Abstract: A case is made for repeated‐measures experiments, and particularly single‐subject designs, over randomized group studies. The former are argued to be more powerful than the latter, in that they take advantage of psychological “context” or “contrast” effects. Moreover, they provide functional relationships that best answer the kinds of research questions in which educational researchers are interested. Finally, they require the development of experimental, rather than statistical, control — an advantage that should help the field advance.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors defend the thesis that the disadvantages of single-sample repeated-measures experiments outweigh the advantages and that they should be avoided unless explicit substantive considerations require them.
Abstract: This article attempts to defend the thesis that the disadvantages of single‐sample repeated‐measures experiments outweigh the advantages and that they should be avoided unless explicit substantive considerations require them.
TL;DR: The authors introduce a special issue on writing, The Psychology of Writing, with an introduction to the writing process and a review of the main concepts of writing and its application in the field of psychology.
Abstract: (1982). Introduction to special issue on writing. Educational Psychologist: Vol. 17, The Psychology of Writing, pp. 129-130.