Considers two notable recent philosophical theories of concepts in relation to some challenges set by Wittgenstein in his notorious private language argument. The challenge is formulated in terms of constraints on the explanation of the relation between thought and language. Shows how these theories of concepts relate to constraints that arise…

A treatment group of 20 aviation students used training manuals that presented functional flow diagrams before schematic diagrams. Comparison of data from 10 controls on a card-sort task showed that functional flow diagrams enhanced understanding of technical systems. (SK)

Studied how nonnatural entities are represented by examining concepts of God of 145 college students in three experiments. In story processing tasks, students often used an anthropomorphic God concept that was inconsistent with their stated theological beliefs. The tendency to anthropomorphize may be generalizable to other agents. (SLD)

Considers examples of aspects of the infinitely small and large as they unfolded in the history of calculus from the 17th through the 20th centuries. Presents didactic observations at relevant places in the historical account. (Author/MM)

In three experiments, children listened to a story and were asked to repeat "the last word" or "the last thing" they heard. Found that children as young as 4.5 to 5 years treat both open and closed categories as words and clearly differentiate between words and things, contradicting the notion that children cannot focus on…

Clarified the developmental processes of awareness of relationships between duration, distance, and speed relative to linear movement. Children began with near awareness of the direct relationships between duration and distance and distance and speed. However, correct grasp of these direct relationships seemed to strengthen an incorrect grasp of…

Discusses the problems of conceptualization of the function limit in technological environments (principally graphing calculators today and symbolic calculators tomorrow) that are gradually being adopted in precalculus teaching. Explains how the instrumentation process and the conceptualization process are dependent on each other. Sets forth a…

Investigated whether infants infer that a hidden, freely moving object will move continuously and smoothly. Six- to 10- month olds inferred that the object's path would be connected and unobstructed, in accord with continuity. Younger infants did not infer this, in accord with inertia. At 8 and 10 months, knowledge of inertia emerged but remained…

Cognitive neuroscience is a scientific discipline that aims to determine how brain function gives rise to mental activity. Modern imaging techniques have contributed significantly to the emergence of this discipline. A conceptual framework is presented to help interpret data describing the relationships between cognitive phenomena and brain…

Explores faulty models that students have for physiological processes. Undergraduate students (N=393) in three different research universities predicted the changes in heart rate, strength of cardiac contraction, breathing frequency, and depth of breathing under conditions that result in increased cardiac output. Contains 23 references. (DDR)

Comments on four articles in a special issue of the Journal of the Learning Sciences on methodology in learning sciences. Analyzes the articles within a general model seeking to analyze human activity across multiple time scales. (Author/MM)

Proposes a framework for discussing the nature of the relationships between contexts and the formation of mathematical knowledge through model and field-of-experience concepts. Supports and illustrates this framework with references to curricular innovation and educational research. (Contains 31 references.) (Author/ASK)

Argues that current approaches to modeling of concepts in bilingual memory privilege word representation at the expense of concept representation. Identifies four problems with the study of concepts in bilingual memory. (Author/VWL)

Reports on two investigations examining students' thinking processes with regard to functions. Concludes that students often relied on a table or some variation of a table as a cognitive link advancing the development of their reasoning about underlying function relationships. (Author/MM)

Memory-based and constructionist processes have both been proposed as essential components of the activation of concepts (e.g., propositions) and the establishment of meaningful connections between concepts during reading. In this article, we argue that a comprehensive theory of reading comprehension should include both sets of processes. In…