Describes trends in students' explanations of biological change in organisms. Student responses to questions on how graphically depicted phenomena occur were analyzed and most students were unable to offer causal explanations. (Contains 27 references.) (DDR)

Ethnocentric concepts, theories and practices in education, predominantly embedded in western philosophy and values, tend to ignore the growing multicultural nature of educational institutions. This article draws attention to the knowledge gap in mainstream literature regarding diverse perspectives of educational leadership--an issue which is…

Law often appears to be in a limbo between the Social Sciences and the Humanities. Movements within legal scholarship itself, the law and economics movement and the law and literature movement, represent efforts to portray law as a social science or as a humanity. But if one looks at what lawyers do, one finds that law is more like…

Developmental psychologists have been interested in the cognitive ability of perspective-taking for a number of years due to the apparent link between perspective-taking deficits and Autistic Spectrum Disorder. Most of the research in this area has employed the concepts and techniques of the approach commonly referred to as "Theory of Mind." The…

This paper describes how visual media technologies have been used to support research into the way technical diagrams are represented in people's minds. Two groups of subjects participated in this research, individuals with either a high or a low level of expertise in meteorology, specifically professional meteorologists and non-meteorologists.…

This paper examines research studies that have concluded that elementary school children can learn more difficult and abstract social studies concepts than are taught in the traditional social studies curriculum. Research studies that focus on constraints on cognition, the use of embedded concepts, and understanding knowledge restructuring and…

Argues that the effect of media violence on individual differences in aggression is primarily the result of a cumulative learning process during childhood. Presents a developmental theory holding that a child's repeated viewing of media violence, in combination with other factors, can culminate in aggressive behavior patterns (including…

Discusses the difficulties that some students have in understanding the concept of chemical reactions. Proposes that instructors try to consider the various difficulties during a chemistry course when students form their concepts of element conservation. (TW)

The New Jersey Task Force on Thinking has taken the first steps toward statewide assessment of students' thinking skills. Efforts were made to (1) define requisite thinking competencies, (2) explore measurement of thinking competencies, and (3) make recommendations accordingly. Preliminary findings are reported. (TE)

By bringing together neurologists, developmental psychologists, pediatricians, and economists, the National Scientific Council on the Developing Child offers a unique knowledge base from which early childhood policy and practice can be informed. By communicating how and why early experiences have a lasting impact on brain architecture--and what…

This paper proposes a model for teaching and learning complex thinking skills developed from a synthesis of theories and research. The model functions like a concept map or a graphic organizer with five major components, each discussed in this paper: (1) presence of complex authentic life situations within a context; (2) activation and execution…

Examines how modern technology is redefining competences, particularly those required by aircrews in state-of-the-art cockpits and how rule-based descriptions may not always be as practical as cognitive schemas and frames or case-based reasoning. Concludes that a wider systems perspective must include a balance between intuitive and analytic…

Compares the English modals "could,""might,""should,""ought to" and others with German "konnte,""durfte,""sollte,""mubte," referring to the diachronic perspective and using Reichenbach's (1947) grid of times and worlds. The article suggests that the variety of use of…

Discusses a methods kit for interactive problem-solving exercises in engineering education as well as a methodology for intelligent evaluation of solutions. The quality of a system teaching logistics thinking can be improved using artificial intelligence. Embedding a rule-based diagnosis module that evaluates the student's knowledge actively…

Presented are four research articles and staff development activities. Included are: an activity used to stimulate discussion of the issue of balanced science; a constructivist approach to teaching electric circuits; a science grading scheme; and a discussion of priorities in science education. (CW)