INVESTIGATED WERE JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT'S UNDERSTANDINGS OF THE CONCEPTS INTRINSIC TO PROBABILITY THEORY. THE SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES WERE TO EXPLORE (1) THE VARIATION AND CONSISTENCY IN USAGE OF QUANTITATIVE LANGUAGE TERMS, (2) THE ABILITY TO GENERATE POSSIBLE COMBINATIONS AND PERMUTATIONS, (3) THE RECOGNITION AND UTILIZATION OF THE CONCEPT OF…

REPORTED IS THE DETERMINATION OF THE RELATIVE EFFECTIVENESS OF TWO METHODS OF INSTRUCTION IN TEACHING CLASSIFICATIONAL CONCEPTS OF PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL CHANGE TO ELEMENTARY SCHOOL CHILDREN. THROUGH TEACHER-DIRECTED DEMONSTRATION-DISCUSSION, STUDENTS IN GRADES 2-6 WERE INSTRUCTED IN THE CONCEPTS OF PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL CHANGE WITH THE…

This study investigates spatial and conceptual role-taking at the preschool level to determine the components of and relationship between these two forms of role-taking. A total of 80 children between 3 and 5 years of age were tested individually on four spatial tasks and five conceptual tasks and rated on the levels of egocentrism employed.…

This study reports a factor analysis of the data resulting from a 3-year longitudinal investigation into conservation of number and related mathematical type concepts. Conservation of number, which represents a subset within the concept of conservation, was measured by use of a 20-item, criterion-referenced testing device. The subjects, who were…

This study was planned to examine differences in the ability to stop and think, and knowledge of comparative concepts, among children who succeeded or failed in solving verbally presented class inclusion problems. Thirty third-grade boys were classified as non-Inclusion subjects, and 30 others as Inclusion subjects. The children were classified as…

The Wisconsin model of conceptual learning and development specifies four levels of mastery in the acquisition of a concept. The levels of mastery are defined in terms of performance on tasks designed to measure each level. This paper discusses the internal operations or processes which are inferred as the mechanisms by which each level of…

To determine whether children possess representations and concepts of space before they acquire verbal descriptions of these, children's formation of symbolic representations of space and their acquisition of verbal referents for them were observed. It was found for subjects in the study that conceptual representations of space relations were…

THE EFFECT OF PLANNED GUIDANCE ON THE PROBLEM-SOLVING BEHAVIOR OF ELEMENTARY STUDENTS WAS INVESTIGATED. FACTORS RELATED TO CHANGES IN PROBLEM-SOLVING BEHAVIORS WERE IDENTIFIED. APPROXIMATELY 50 PERCENT OF THE SIXTH-GRADE STUDENTS INCLUDED IN THE STUDY WERE GIVEN INQUIRY TRAINING 30 TO 60 MINUTES DAILY FOR 3 WEEKS. AN INVENTORY OF SCIENCE PROCESSES…

This paper reports a study carried out with 14 children (ranging in age from 2.8 to 3.5 years) which investigated children's concepts of difference. Pairs of small objects differing on a number of dimensions were presented to the children. As each pair of objects was presented, children were asked to select the object that was…

Discussed are difficulties which occur while the student is using mathematical induction as a tool to prove theorems. An appropriate approach is suggested. (MP)

Nine children were tested to determine the appropriateness of Piaget's part-whole fraction concept interpretation for both the discrete case and the continuous cases of length and area. (MP)

An algebra test was constructed within a Piagetian framework. Results of a selection of the test items are given and discussed. (MP)

This paper discusses how children form concepts; the diversity of concepts that are influenced by social processes; factors that affect concept formation; and behavioral techniques that have been effective in improving the instructional capabilities of parents and teachers. (Author/AM)

According to Piaget's (1958) theory of cognitive development, the stage of Formal Operational Thinking, highly abstract, as opposed to concrete, thinking, emerges during the adolescent period. Recent research suggests that "all" adolescents, or even adults, "do not" develop complete formal reasoning. Attempts to integrate…

A comparison of 28 mildly mentally retarded children with 28 children of average intelligence (mean mental age six years) in learning conservation skills found both groups benefited from Direct Instruction methods, but retarded children acquired only pseudoconservation from Observational Learning methods. Their learning was not tenacious and did…