Instructors of elementary science methods classes have long lamented the significant difficulties their students exhibit when trying to understand the many complexities of teaching science. As noted by some researchers and practicing teachers, preservice teachers often fail to developmentally function at desired levels with respect to…

Preschoolers' theory of mind (ToM) was examined in relation to emotional features of their conflicts with siblings, using mothers as privileged informants. Fifty-four children aged 3 to 5 years and their 54 mothers took part. Children were given 10 standard false belief tasks and a standardized language test. Mothers completed questionnaires,…

Recent research has shown that 2-year-olds fail at a task that ostensibly only requires the ability to understand that solid objects cannot pass through other solid objects. Two experiments were conducted in which 2- and 3-year-olds judged the stopping point of an object as it moved at varying speeds along a path and behind an occluder, stopping…

Studies that examine the effects of exercise on children's intelligence, cognition, or academic achievement were reviewed and results were discussed in light of (a) contemporary cognitive theory development directed toward exercise, (b) recent research demonstrating the salutary effects of exercise on adults' cognitive functioning, and (c) studies…

Approximately 100 years ago, Clark Hetherington articulated the primary aims of physical education by identifying four separate areas: (1) psychomotor, which refers to motor skills; (2) organic, the fitness factor; (3) intellectual, or the cognitive component; and (4) character which refers to the affective domain. These categories can be used to…

Deferred imitation has long held a privileged position in early cognitive development, considered an early marker of representational thought with links to language development and symbolic processes. Children with autism have difficulties with several abilities generally thought to be related to deferred imitation: immediate imitation, language,…

One of most notable features of existing body of research in transition seems to be the absence of a theoretical model. The suggestion we present in this paper--to view and understand the high school to university transition in mathematics as a modern-day rite of passage--is an attempt at defining such framework. Although dominantly reflecting…

Sex differences in the latent general and broad cognitive abilities underlying the Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Cognitive Abilities were investigated for children, youth, and adults ages 6 through 59. A developmental, multiple indicator-multiple cause, structural equation model was used to investigate sex differences in latent cognitive abilities as…

The article "Is Google Making Us Stupid?" in last Summer's "Atlantic Monthly," raised a number of provocative, and indeed worrisome, questions about computer usage and cognitive development. For instance, persons with considerable experience of reading for the sake of pleasure report that, after a couple of years using computers a great deal, they…

Kail responds to Stigler and others' criticisms of Kail's 1986 article and maintains that their criticisms are incorrect or implausible. He agrees with their conclusion that theories of cognitive development must include both domain-specific and general processes. (RJC)

Twelve nondisabled adolescents were superior to 12 learning disabled students in performance on all types of strategy transformations presented on simple arithmetic computation tasks. Significant ability-group differences emerged on reduction to answer, saving partial results, unit building, and alternative method transformations. Results…

Reviews and discusses Piaget's recent work on abstract reasoning. Piaget's distinction between empirical and reflective abstraction is presented; his hypotheses are considered to be metaphorical. (Author/DB)

Research is reviewed which challenges the contention of A. Baker (EC 113 476) that the cognitive functioning of autistic and mentally retarded children is similar. (Author/CL)

It is commonly assumed that artifacts are named solely on the basis of properties they currently possess; in particular, their appearance and function. The experiments presented here explore the alternative proposal that the history of an artifact plays some role in how it is named. In three experiments, children between the ages of 4 and 9 years…