Charles D. Holley

Evaluation of a hierarchical mapping technique as an aid to prose processing

Abstract Seventeen college students were trained on a hierarchical mapping technique designed to facilitate prose processing. This technique required the students to transform text into node (concept)-link (relationship) networks using a set of experimenter-supplied links and structures. Following training the students used the mapping strategy in studying a 3000-word passage extracted from a geology textbook. Five days later they were given four types of tests over this article: multiple-choice, short-answer, essay, and a summary-oriented concept cloze. The treatment groups performance on these tests was compared with a control group ( N = 21) who used their normal study and test-taking techniques. A Hotelling T 2 test indicated that the treatment group significantly outperformed the control group on the dependent measures. Further analyses showed that the major differences between groups were attributable to the concept cloze and essay exams, both of which were designed to assess performance on “main ideas.” This pattern of results suggests that the strategy is valuable in assisting the student in the extraction and retention of main ideas but does not appear to affect the extraction and retention of details. Finally, 2 × 2 factorial analyses of high and low grade point average (GPA) subgroups indicated that the strategy may be more beneficial for low GPA students. Implications of the results are discussed in terms of organization theory and the encoding variability hypothesis.

Networking: The Technique and the Empirical Evidence

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the node-arc representations of long-term memory. The networking strategy is designed to assist the student in spatially reorganizing passage information as a part of the encoding process. The student is trained to convert prose into hierarchically organized node-link diagrams (networks) using the set of six experimenter-provided links. The nodes contain paraphrases and images-drawings of key ideas and concepts, and the links specify the relationships between these concepts. For structural organization, the networking process emphasizes the identification and representation of hierarchies (type-part), chains, and clusters. Application of this technique results in the production of hierarchically structured two-dimensional maps. These maps provide the student with a spatial organization of the information contained in the passage. Training in the networking method has typically been employed as a component of a learning strategy system. In sequencing the training within a particular strategy such as networking, two possibilities have been explored. One of these is a building-block approach in which components of the strategy are first learned using simplified training materials and then later combined to form the overall strategy. An alternative to this approach is one that first communicates the gestalt of the strategy and then later adds detail and precision. This approach has the advantage of allowing the students to practice on the target material almost from the beginning of training.

Age and Prison Violence Increasing Age Heterogeneity as a Violence-Reducing Strategy in Prisons

This project assessed the impact of increasing inmate age heterogeneity on violent and assaultive behavior at two Federal Correctional Institutions. The project spanned a period of two and one-half years. The results indicated that the strategy may be viable for establishing and maintaining a relatively nonviolent institutional environment.

The Development of Spatial Learning Strategies

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses theories of information processing in spatial learning techniques. The basic assumption of functional models of semantic memory and its many variants is that humans process information in accord with hierarchically inclusive schemata and subschemata. A schema can be described as the abstract prototype of a class of objects, events, or situations. Schemata are usually viewed as being recursively embedded, that is, one schema can be a component of another schema. Schema theory has proven to be useful in providing a framework for studies of prose processing where activation of appropriate existing schemata facilitates comprehension and recall. The original formulation of the model was relatively simple and straightforward. It involved a single, central control mechanism and viewed learning entirely in terms of moving through ever-deeper levels of processing.

Effects of conversational noise, locus of control, and field dependence/independence on the performance of academic tasks

Abstract To evaluate the effects of conversational noise on the comprehension/retention of 2000-word text excerpts, two groups were randomly formed. Group 1 ( n = 20) studied under noise conditions and Group 2 ( n = 24) studied under nonnoise conditions. In the analysis of the scores on tests over the material studied under noise and nonnoise conditions, overall ANCOVAs indicated no significant differences among the two groups in performance on the comprehension/retention tests. Further analyses, however, indicated significant differences between the performance of identifiable subgroups under noise and nonnoise study conditions. Internals on Rotters I-E scale outperformed Externals under noise, whereas the reverse was true under nonnoise conditions.