Discusses the controversy concerning language learning theories as epitomized by Chomsky and Skinner, and concludes that heredity and experience are equally important in language acquisition. (DD)

A study comparing Chicano and Anglo children in spatial and language abilities showed that Chicanos were better in spatial ability and poorer in language comprehension. The findings were interpretated as demonstrating ethnic group differences in information processing strategies and the polarity of verbal and spatial skills in some children. (JB)

Describes a series of exercises designed to develop student's perceptual skills and to improve the processes of comparing, describing, and developing subsets. Includes suggestions for adapting the exercises into science lessons, providing tips for developing each into complete units. Units include human-made objects, leaves, shells, rocks, and…

Experiments on the cognitive and perceptual development of three- to seven-year-old Soviet children are described, especially the work of L. A. Venger, N. N. Poddyakov, and D. B. El'Konin. Visual-action and visual-image thinking are illustrated. (GDC)

Two experiments investigated perceptual primacy of dimensional and similarity relations in stimulus classification of mentally retarded children. Results support a distinction between separable and integral stimulus structures, but do not support an integral-to-separable shift in perceptual development. Results suggest implications for…

This paper reviews, first, experimental studies of perceptual-cognitive development and related work directed to the assessment of infant intelligence and, second, naturalistic observation of the exploratory patterns of infants during free play. Techniques used, such as the Fagan Test of Infant Intelligence, offer the potential to identify…

Explored whether there are changes with age in understanding the specific distinction between natural and human-made phenomena and whether an appreciation of this distinction influences children's beliefs about the possibility of altering or transforming different categories of objects. Found that this distinction, a powerful organizer for adults,…

Two experiments used Visual Expectations Procedure to investigate development of expectations in infants up to 12 months old. Reaction time improved and the percentage of anticipations increased between 6 and 9 months using an alternation pattern or a complex pivot pattern, and between 4 and 8 months when using a left-right alternation or a…

This study has important implications for microworlds such as Logo, HyperGami, and Newton's World, which use interaction to learn spatial mental models for science, math, geometry, etc. This study tested the hypothesis that interactively rotating (dragging) virtual shapes primes mental rotation. The independent variable was observation vs.…

This study examines the historical understanding of 22 fourth-graders and 11 fifth-grade students in two classrooms in a suburban community near Cincinnati (Ohio). The classes were homogeneous racially, with no students of Hispanic, African-American, Asian, or Pacific Island descent in either class. The school reflects primarily middle and…

Past research on the development of referential communication abilities in children does not provide a basis for explaining precisely why communicative effectiveness increases. The common assumption is that developments in role-taking facilitate the child's ability to adapt to hearers. A reasonable alternative explanation is that a child's…

The seven papers that comprise this book were presented at the 1977 National Art Education Association Conference on Reading, the Arts, and the Creation of Meaning held to bring together people in the arts and the fields of reading, psychology, and philosophy to explore the relationships that exist between these fields of study. Topics discussed…

This paper reviews some of the cognitive and linguistic functions which develop during the period of concrete operational thought (ages 4-9) as defined in Piaget's developmental theory. Discussion centers on the formation of classes and relations and the development of the language associated with these operations. Also discussed are conservation…

In the first part of the paper the idea of the cognitive network is developed. The network consists of concepts linked together by relationships which are themselves concepts. Concepts are learned according to simple rules, and the network grows as new concepts are learned. Part II considers the growth and structure of language. The growth of…