Proposes causal field theory as a model of causal reasoning. Suggests that anomaly detection through comparison with natural events triggers causal reasoning. This anomaly is interpreted in terms of agency; therefore, natural phenomena can be understood through an appeal to agency. The mechanism proposed never changes with development, whereas…

Examines the role of social interaction as a facilitator of learning in general and conceptual change in particular. Three conditions are proposed as necessary for social interaction to facilitate knowledge construction--horizontal information, comparable domain knowledge, and availability of cognitive tools. Suggests that these conditions assure…

Describes a process approach to teaching and learning in preschool settings. The approach uses child-initiated play in a prepared environment, and encourages children's formation of symbolic mental representations through social interaction and mediation. Offers guidelines for the implementation of the process approach. (MM)

Reports a study designed to identify 9 and 11 year olds' ways of drawing nets of solids and to provide opportunities for them to reflect on their models in whole class discussions. Results indicated that children's views of solids' nets progressed from more global and holistic to more quantitative and analytic. (MDH)

Reviews recent research in the area of mathematical understanding and compares and contrasts it with a model formulated for the growth of understanding. Uses the analysis of a transcript from an interview with an eight-year-old boy to illustrate the power of the model to describe and map the growth of his mathematical understanding. (18…

Six case studies were conducted on the use of business games and simulations in higher education. Results showed that cognitive learning was greatly affected by particular approaches of students; competitiveness tends to have a negative effect on cognitive gains; and learning is enhanced by advance briefing and tutor involvement during the game.…

Reports on a study of 198 Canadian children, ages 4-8, on their understanding of the role of evidence on the formation of beliefs. Finds that younger children evaluate opinions based on their own beliefs about the situation; older children tend to ascribe knowledge to others on the basis of evidence available to those others. (CFR)

The conceptual frameworks of Thai children (n=48) related to causes of health and sickness were analyzed using the "Interview-about-Instances" and the "Conceptual Profile Inventory" techniques. The results indicate that Thai schoolchildren hold considerable personal knowledge about the causes of health and sickness that does…

Four experiments examined the possibility that second and fourth graders and college students are sensitive to inference constraint when they make causal inferences and assess their understanding of a story. Inference likelihood and understanding ratings varied with constraint for all ages. Results suggest that comprehension monitoring and text…

Reviews developmental literature on cognitive gender differences; and compares past and present trends in gender differences, by age, from standardizations of the Wechsler Intelligence Scales and the California Achievement Tests. Decreases are found in gender differences for adolescents but not for adults. Implications are discussed. (SLD)

Maintains that certain concepts in mathematics are difficult to learn because of problematic continuity from prior knowledge to new concepts. Focuses on the problems of conceptual change connected with the learning of calculus and the shift from rational to real numbers. Summarizes the results of a study involving secondary students. (MJP)

Explores research on the concepts of intelligences and giftedness. Considers the importance of the brain, its organization and functions, different theories about intelligence and the possibility of boosting it, and changes that occur in brain structure as a consequence of the interactions between genetic traits and experiences. (Author/CR)

Investigated suppression of activation and retrieval paths to information stored in long-term memory. Subjects were 94 children in grades 1, 3, and 5. Found that the ability to intentionally inhibit the maintenance and recall of irrelevant information improves over the elementary years, and children are less able than adults to withhold production…

Highlights the strengths of the Halberstadt et al. contribution to the literature on social-emotional development. Discusses three issues relating to their model: (1) the inseparability of cognitive representation in both emotional and social functioning; (2) the role played by context; and (3) the significance of goals in any construct involving…

Argues that the operating characteristics of perceiving and remembering provide a foundation for progress on detailing the processes through which knowledge is realized in real-time tasks and in detailing the processes of developmental change. Includes three examples to illustrate how forming developmental hypotheses in terms of perceiving and…