The role of processing strategies in the acquisition and transfer of a cognitive skill.

How the difficulty of initial training influences the acquisition and transfer of strategic processing skills and memory for processed stimuli was examined in 3 experiments. Participants were asked to discriminate between similar or dissimilar random polygon stimuli. Participants were asked to discriminate between novel transfer polygons; this was followed by a recognition memory task. Results suggest that the difficulty of initial training influences strategic skill acquisition. Strategies acquired during training are applied at transfer regardless of their effectiveness for processing transfer stimuli. This is true even when participants are given feedback indicating that their processing strategy is ineffective. It is argued that skill acquisition is influenced by the acquisition of both stimulus-specific knowledge and strategic skills, and that the strategic skills acquired serve to optimize processing. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Television formats, mastery of mental skills, and the acquisition of knowledge.

Conducted a study to demonstrate that when TV formats are varied, with content held constant, they differentially affect the use of mental skills and the acquisition of knowledge. Four groups of 44 5th graders were pretested on a battery of mental skill tests; then each group was shown 1 of 4 TV film versions of a story and posttested on 2 types of knowledge acquisition tests. All films had the same content, but their dominant format of presentation differed, with fragmentation of spaces, logical gaps, close-ups, and zoomings in and out. Results show differential patterns of correlations between initial skill mastery and knowledge acquisition within each format, depending on whether the format called upon a skill or supplanted it. Also, correlational patterns varied as a function of the requirements of the knowledge acquisition task. (16 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The reemergence of learning theory within instructional research.

Findings from the cognitive analysis of human performance in various domains are guiding development of instructional programs that aim to produce specified forms of competence. A detailed analysis of the principles, theory, and assumptions about learning and instruction that underlie a representative set of such programs indicates the significant issues in theories of learning that have begun to drive experimental work in instructional psychology. Through discussion of programs for the acquisition of proceduralized knowledge, the development of self-regulatory strategies, and the structuring of knowledge for problem solving, this article suggests that instructional experimentation is of increasing value to the interactive growth of learning theory and its applications. The article concludes by suggesting approaches to future integration of various theories of learning and of conditions that foster the acquisition of knowledge and skill. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cognitive technology: Some procedures for facilitating learning and problem solving in mathematics and science.

An argument is detailed for modifications to some traditional procedures of mathematics and science instruction. It is suggested that cognitive research findings, in revealing the essential domain specificity of problem-solving skills, have pointed to negative aspects of some traditional emphases. As a major example, conventional problem solving frequently can interfere with the acquisition of knowledge. Alternatives to problem solving such as studying worked examples can be equally ineffective unless they are designed in accordance with current findings. It is concluded that if material is structured with learning rather than goal attainment in mind, problem-solving skills can be enhanced substantially. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Latent class models for knowledge domains.

Presents a systematic approach to hypothesis testing relating assumptions regarding the prerequisite ordering of skills, the domain membership of skills, and the identification of transition states between nonmastery and skill mastery. Latent class models related to the problem of differentiating between transition states, hierarchical ordering, and measurement error are examined, and the relation between models representing the situation in which sets of skills belong in separate domains and the situation in which skills are hierarchically ordered, is illustrated. Models representing skill membership in associated and independent domains are presented. (29 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Problem solving and learning.

A. Newell and H. A. Simon (1972) provided a framework for understanding problem solving that can provide the needed bridge between learning and performance. Their analysis of means–ends problem solving can be viewed as a general characterization of the structure of human cognition. However, this framework needs to be elaborated with a strength concept to account for variability in problem solving behavior and improvement in problem-solving skill with practice. The ACT* theory (J. R. Anderson, 1983) is such an elaborated theory that can account for many of the results about the acquisition of problem-solving skills. Its central concept is the production rule, which plays an analogous role to the stimulus–response bond in earlier learning theories. The theory has provided a basis for constructing intelligent computer-based tutoring systems for the instruction of academic problem-solving skills. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

An eclectic model of supervision: A developmental sequence of beginning psychotherapy students.

Suggests a supervision model that uses both individual and group formats and incorporates 3 foci: facilitation of personal growth and awareness, acquisition of practical skills, and mastery of cognitive and theoretical knowledge. The initial experiences and needs of beginning psychotherapy students are used to illustrate this model. The trainees' needs are divided into 3 stages: role definition, skill acquisition, and practice solidification and evaluation. (11 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Acquisition of a problem-solving skill: Levels of organization and use of working memory.

We examined the acquisition of a problem-solving skill at three levels of organization—strategy, subgoal, and operator—and investigated changes in temporary storage, manipulation of information, and coordination of multiple representations. 6 college students practiced minimizing the simulated cost of solving diagnostic problems with digital electronic circuits for approximately 50 hr (347 problems). Ss were tested on declarative knowledge, inferential skills at the subgoal level, and ability to solve problems during working memory tasks. The working memory tasks required retention of a preload, concurrent processing, or integration of displayed information with the contents of working memory. The data support the view that restructuring is goal sensitive and strategic. The results suggest a multiple-level analysis of skill acquisition in which practice allows strategic restructuring of cognitive processes at 3 levels of organization. Implications for models of skill acquisition and working memory are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

On the acquisition of mnemonic skill: Application of skilled memory theory.

Skilled memory theory (W. G. Chase & K. A. Ericsson, 1981, 1982) can provide a useful theoretical framework for describing the details of performance during the acquisition of mnemonic skill, one that can point to the critical conditions necessary for the successful acquisition of mnemonic skills (in particular) and cognitive skills (in general). To provide support for this suggestion, the authors describe the results of an extended investigation of the uninstructed development of mnemonic skill in a group of normal adults. This study demonstrated that high levels of serial recall performance can be reliably developed in a group of individuals in a relatively short period of time (1 semester). In addition, the process of acquisition and the critical conditions for optimal training outcomes can be well described by the principles of skilled memory theory. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

What's meaning got to do with it: The role of vocabulary in word reading and reading comprehension.

There is at present no clear consensus as to the nature of the relations between oral vocabulary and specific literacy skills. The present study distinguished between vocabulary breadth and depth of vocabulary knowledge to better explain the role of oral vocabulary in various reading skills. A sample of 60 typically developing Grade 4 students was assessed on measures of receptive and expressive vocabulary breadth, depth of vocabulary knowledge, decoding, visual word recognition, and reading comprehension. Concurrent analyses revealed that each distinct reading skill was related to the vocabulary measures in a unique manner. Receptive vocabulary breadth was the only oral vocabulary variable that predicted decoding performance after controlling for age and nonverbal intelligence. In contrast, expressive vocabulary breadth predicted visual word recognition, whereas depth of vocabulary knowledge predicted reading comprehension. The results are discussed in terms of interrelations between phonological and semantic factors in the acquisition of distinct reading skills. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Knowledge structures and the acquisition of a complex skill.

The purpose of this study was to examine the viability of knowledge structures as an operationalization of learning in the context of a task that required a high degree of skill. Over the course of 3 days, 86 men participated in 9 training sessions and learned a complex video game. At the end of acquisition, participants' knowledge structures were assessed. After a 4-day nonpractice interval, trainees completed tests of skill retention and skill transfer. Findings indicated that the similarity of trainees' knowledge structures to an expert structure was correlated with skill acquisition and was predictive of skill retention and skill transfer. However, the magnitude of these effects was dependent on the method used to derive the expert referent structure. Moreover, knowledge structures mediated the relationship between general cognitive ability and skill-based performance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Memory for order of operations in the acquisition and transfer of sequential cognitive skills.

The authors report a series of experiments in which questions about the nature of memory for the order of processing operations in sequential processing skills (i.e., skills that require proper sequencing of a set of component operations) were addressed. Evidence from 3 studies of a sequential number computation skill suggested that memory for processing sequences that are general to many instances is more instrumental than sequence memory that is instance specific. Results generalized over task versions that differed markedly in the number of processing sequences and the number of unique stimulus instances per sequences. General sequence memory appeared to develop relatively early in practice and to underlie errors in transfer that resembled einstellung effects. The findings are discussed with respect to memory mechanisms postulated in recent theories of skill acquisition. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A theory of cognitive development: The control and construction of hierarchies of skills.

Skill theory provides tools for predicting developmental sequences and synchronies in any domain at any point in development by integrating behavioral and cognitive-developmental concepts. Cognitive development is explained by skill structures called "levels," together with transformation rules relating these levels to each other. The transformation rules specify the developmental steps by which a skill moves gradually from one level of complexity to the next. At every step in these developmental sequences, the individual controls a particular skill. Skills are gradually transformed from sensory-motor actions to representations and then to abstractions. The transformations produce continuous behavioral changes; but across the entire profile of a person's skills and within highly practiced task domains, a stagelike shift in skills occurs as the person develops to an optimal level. The theory suggests a common framework for integrating developmental analyses of cognitive, social, language, and perceptual-motor skills and certain behavioral changes in learning and problem solving. (6 p ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Skill in sport.

Presents data to illustrate chunking and categorizing performance for sport experts similar to that found for experts in traditional cognitive skills. 11 professional basketball players and 4 graduate student controls recalled 10 basketball plays to demonstrate chunking; the same 11 players and 10 nonplayer controls sorted 30 pictures of plays to demonstrate categorization performance. Extending the analysis to the acquisition of motor skill suggests that motor skills become proceduralized as do cognitive skills. The nature of proceduralization for the motor system is considered. Data from an experiment using Ss from the "best" and "worst" softball leagues in a city who attempted to bat with several interfering conditions are presented to indicate that sport experts develop the same sort of specialized declarative and procedural knowledge as experts in cognitive domains. (French abstract) (36 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Clinical outcome of patients infected with hepatitis C virus infection on survival after primary liver transplantation under tacrolimus

In 1994, as a result of both programme evaluations which identified students' fears and apprehensions about their practical ability, and a review of the literature on skill acquisition, experiential skills teaching was resumed within the faculty. Having invested considerable finance into the reconstruction of a skills centre to teach skills, it is now imperative that its use be formally evaluated. Part of the evaluative process includes a review of the empirical literature on the acquisition of psychomotor skills in nursing. This paper summarizes this review.     

Korean-English biliteracy acquisition: Cross-language phonological and orthographic transfer.

Cross-language phonological and orthographic relationship in the biliteracy acquisition of children learning to read Korean and English was investigated in this study. Forty-five Korean-English bilingual children were tested in first-language (L1; Korean) and 2nd-language (L2; English) reading skills focusing on 2 reading processes--phonological and orthographic processing. The authors found that phonological skills in L1 and L2 were strongly correlated, and Korean phonological skills explained a unique amount of variance in English pseudoword reading beyond English phonological and orthographic skills. However, there was limited orthographic skill transfer between the 2 systems. Results are discussed within the framework of universal phonological processes in learning to read. The authors conclude that bilingual reading acquisition may be a joint function of general phonological processes and orthographic-specific skills. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The future of testing: A research agenda for cognitive psychology and psychometrics.

Discusses social and educational demands of the present and future and examines current research in cognitive and developmental psychology that can influence the development of new psychometric methodology. Research on the diagnosis of performance regularities at different levels of learning and development should contribute to assessment measures that provide information useful for instructional decision and guidance. Investigation of the structure and cognitive processes of highly competent performers in various knowledge domains is beginning to suggest techniques for assessing the attainment of increasingly complex levels of skill and understanding. Research on information processing models of aptitude measures and self-monitoring skills is providing an understanding of the abilities for learning tested by intelligence and aptitude tests. Understanding of how these abilities are acquired is a prerequisite to facilitating their acquisition. It is concluded that these advances in the study of cognition should contribute to redressing social concerns about testing and assessment in education. (59 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Practice makes perfect? The role of participant modeling in sexual abuse prevention programs.

We tested the prediction that a sexual abuse prevention program that included participant modeling (PM) would result in superior skill acquisition compared with a symbolic modeling (SM) program. Twenty-six kindergarten children were assigned to one of the two programs after being matched for initial skill level. The PM program taught self-protective skills through modeling and active rehearsal; the SM program taught the same skills, but the children watched as skills were modeled by the experimenter. Results provided evidence for the greater efficacy of PM relative to SM for the learning of personal safety skills and, thus, support the inclusion of active rehearsal in prevention programs for young children. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychological education: A skill-oriented approach.

Tested the hypothesis that a 3-wk program based on a microcounseling paradigm would facilitate the acquisition of 3 specific problem-solving skills: (a) problem definition, (b) generation of alternatives, and (c) goal selection. 30 6th graders were randomly assigned either to a training group, to a group exposed to films and discussions related to each problem-solving skill, or to a no-treatment control group. Each group was tested immediately after training and 2 wks later. Results indicate that the microtraining group generated more alternatives than the other groups. Over time, all groups improved their problem-definition skills, while their ability to select appropriate goals decreased. Questions concerning the measures, issues in psychological education, and implications for program development are considered. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)