This paper describes the conceptualizations, or mental models, of the nature of the bonding and structure of metals of a group of U.K. college students. It is suggested that these mental models may be understood in terms of the students' prior learning about covalent and ionic bonding, and the prevalence of a common alternative conceptual…

The framework for this paper is a recently developed theory of abstraction in context. The paper reports on data collected from one student working on tasks concerned with absolute value functions. It examines the relationship between mathematical constructions and abstractions. It argues that an abstraction is a consolidated construction that can…

This paper describes a study of whether and how collaborative learning at the computer fosters conceptual change. A suite of computer simulation programs developed to confront students' alternative conceptions in mechanics was integrated into a grade 10 science class in a high school in Melbourne, Australia. A Conceptual Test was administered as a…

Mental retardation, learning disabilities, and intellectual giftedness have long been separated as different fields. In the past decade research findings suggested a continuity within the general intelligence spectrum which place the gifted on one extreme and the retarded on the other, as well as a two dimensional taxonomy of intellectual…

This research was designed to investigate several primary questions in comparing the Logo floor turtle to the Logo screen turtle: (1) Do young children gain different geometric concepts from experiences with the floor turtle than they do with the screen turtle? (2) Do young children learn to use the four basic Logo commands more efficiently with…

This study compares the concept of human nature in Germany, Java, and the United States. The study assumes cross-cultural similarities in the formal structure of the concept of human nature, while hypothesizing variation in content, for example, in the value systems. Four components of the concept of human nature were presented (personality…

To test the hypothesis that induced mental imagery would facilitate the contemplation and reflection that have been suggested as being important to the writing process, a study investigated the effects of instructions to induce mental imagery upon the written language of young children. Subjects, 28 third grade children, were randomly assigned to…

Findings generated from past classroom observation and individual interviews indicate that certain framework conceptions can be identified by which students explain special transformations of substances and which are activated in view of new experiences made in the course of chemistry instruction. This study investigated these framework…

This paper explores some ways research can be used to create a more integrated theoretical understanding of the interaction between individual cognition and social/cultural context as the motive force in literate acts. Drawing on data from recent research on writing, the paper proposes three principles that inform a more complicated interaction…

The first of three articles on the ways in which people formulate their observations, this paper considers the basic assumptions of both syntactic and paradigmatic models of cognition and their applications in natural (i.e., human) and artificial (i.e., computer) information processing. The analysis begins with background information on the nature…

Over the past several years, one study after another has uncovered a positive relationship between interpersonal interaction and individual achievement. According to a handful of these studies, interaction is more effective than are individually-based strategies for promoting reasoning. We give our attention here to the link that possibly exists…

A study investigated how young children understand natural kind terms by examining how 3- and 4-year-olds rely on category membership to draw inductive inferences about objects. One hundred four children (53 girls and 51 boys) from six preschools in California and Michigan participated in the study. The children were shown 10 sets of pictures of…

Theories of cognitive processing suggest specific effects result from different elaboration treatments. To test this assumption, 125 high school students were randomly assigned to read concept materials containing adjunct elaborations that varied by elaboration type (mnemonics, schematics, or metaphors) and presentation mode (verbal or visual). To…

Since there is a lack of studies that reveal school age children's oral competence in story production, a five-year longitudinal descriptive study was undertaken to determine a child's sense of story as revealed by children's oral generation of stories. The specific story elements analyzed were sources of their stories, narrative form, formal…

Semiotics is the science of signs and the structures of signs within which meanings emerge. The process through which these sign structures are built up is called semiosis. Courses commonly taught as foundational to teacher trainers should be imbued with a specific semiotic emphasis. At a general level, teachers may be introduced to the notion of…