In an experiment designed to determine their use of relational terms, 168 Navajo children aged 5 to adult attempted three relational tasks regarding the concepts of upward, downward, and equality comparison in the areas of mass, number, and continuous quantity. All subjects used the relational terms of "more", "less", and…

This is the ninth in a series of general bibliographies which are being developed to disseminate information concerning documents analyzed at the ERIC Information Analysis Center for Science Education. Reported are over 100 citations to selected documents in the areas of (1) evaluation, (2) educational objectives, (3) learning theories and…

Investigation of the influence of schooling on cognitive development and its resulting attitudes toward social change in Pakistan provides insight on national development. Pakistan's rural geography, well developed class system, legacy of colonial rule, and strong family and religious traditions make it a particularly good subject for development…

The Model of Conceptual Learning and Development (CLD) is an analytical, descriptive model. It defines four levels of concept attainment and the possible uses and extensions of attained concepts, specifies the cognitive operations involved in learning concepts at each of the four levels, and postulates internal and external conditions of learning…

Based on the more general principle that all thinking (including reasoning) is basically perceptual in nature, the author proposes that visual perception is not a passive recording of stimulus material but an active concern of the mind. He delineates the task of visually distinguishing changes in size, shape, and position and points out the…

An attempt is made to elaborate on the connections and differences between the objective and subjective elements of mathematical knowledge using case study analysis relative to how an epistemological perspective about probability and randomness impacts upon a short classroom teaching episode. (19 references) (Author/JJK)

The relationships and possible effects of various personal home and school variables on the acquisition of functional biological, chemical, and physical scientific knowledge by tenth grade Israeli students (n=544) was investigated. Biology was the only subject in which functional knowledge was significantly related to nonformal science activities.…

Presents five activities to help students construct meaning for multiplying fractions through real-world problem contexts, physical or pictorial models, the recognition of patterns, and the use of calculators. In the context of a garden plot, worksheets examine various aspects of parts of plots, patterns in plots, and a maximization problem.…

Describes the use and rationale of "Silent Teaching," a teaching technique in which the teacher remains silent as students generate and evaluate hypotheses while trying to understand an as-yet undiscovered concept. (MDH)

A longitudinal study followed Brian from grade five through grade seven to examine his representation and development of mathematical knowledge. Some observations over the four years were that Brian liked to figure things out, responded poorly to suggestions not fitting the representation he constructed, and changed attitudes from purposeful and…

Evaluates the effectiveness of a course using a constructivist approach in reducing Dutch secondary school students (n=190) misconceptions about force. Concluded that the lessons were effective in changing students' ideas in regard to forces in rest situations and frictional forces and that learning effects were equally distributed over student…

"Seeing Fractions" is an instructional unit for teachers in California that was trial tested in about 30 classrooms, grades 4 through 6 with diverse student populations, and designed to help students become aware of the variety of ways in which fractions are commonly used. The Introduction includes an overview of fractions and what…

An overview is presented of the epistemology of the three types of constructivism. Criticized is another interpretation of constructivism; it is stated that this interpretation is trivial, cognitively abridged, and disrespectful of students' capacities, creativity, and imagination. Constructivism has to go beyond saying that knowledge is…

Piaget's model of children's conceptual learning and development was compared with Klausmeier's Conceptual Learning and Development (CLD) model in a longitudinal study. The CLD model suggests four successive levels of concept learning: (1) concrete--recognizing an object which has been encountered previously; (2) identity--recognizing a known…

The Conceptual Learning and Development (CLD) Model specifies four levels of concept attainment (concrete, identity, classificatory, and formal) and three uses of concepts (problem solving, subordinate-supraordinate, and principles). Longitudinal and cross-sectional studies of concept attainment may be conducted. The results of this study of 300…