To investigate how a child organizes new objects and how categories function for a chid, twelve 6- and twelve 8-year-olds were individually given several sorting tasks involving 21 three-dimensional nonsense objects. The child was exposed to all the objects; three objects were pointed out and withdrawn; and then the child was asked to describe…

This study was designed to identify those science concepts and mathematical skills that may be the source of student difficulty in learning chemistry as developed by the Chemical Education Materials Study (CHEMS). The instruments utilized were four Achievement Tests prepared by CHEMS. Each test item was analyzed to determine the concepts and/or…

Although critical thinking is a pervasive educational objective, it remains inconsistently and imperfectly defined. The present paper attempts to sort out direct attempts at defining critical thinking. Such definitions are classified as representing one of three differing points of view: critical thinking as evaluation, critical thinking as…

This document describes the Conceptual Learning and Development (CLD) model of concept formation. According to the CLD analysis, a single concept is learned in the following successive levels of attainment: concrete, identity, classification, and formal. The four levels are considered applicable to concepts that are defined (or could be defined)…

A Study was conducted to determine the effects of saliency, concept rule, and stimulus variety upon number of trials to solution and focusing strategy. A prediction of special interest was that there would be a concept rule x saliency interaction. A 2 x 2 x 3 design combined concept rule (conjunctive, inclusive disjunctive), saliency ("high" and…

Attempts "to look through the microscope" to try to understand how consciousness--or mind--comes into existence. And with mind, how language, the notion of truth, logic, mathematics and the sciences have come into the world. (Author/RK)

This study highlights some theoretical ideas which should be considered in attempting to assess the degree of abstraction underlying conceptual learning. (Author/RK)

The objective of this study was to investigate how two application lessons at the end of an earth science curriculum contributed to two different types of classroom: generative and authoritative. This study used Vygotsky's views to interpret earth science learning in the elementary classroom. The research questions were: How do fifth grade…

This paper is a reflection of the preparation of the Psychology of Mathematics Education Panel (PME26) that discuss the issue of "learning from learners." What it implies to be a learner is formulated in order to reflect upon the way teachers and/or researchers learn from learners. The idea of conceptualizing the notion of "learning from learners"…

Six year olds and college students were given two or four conceptual problems to solve, the number of rules within the series of problems being either one or two. Number of rules and the interaction of number of rules and age of subject were found to be significant variables. (CS)

Important and fulfilling experiences in one's education about, and appreciation of, life are discussed. (CK)

The operation of means-ends analysis (MEA) involves attempts at reducing differences between problem states and the goal state. It was paradoxically found that the more problem solvers knew of the goal state, the less they learned of the problem structure during the solution process. (PN)

Investigates procedural and conceptual aspects in preservice elementary school teachers' understanding of the Fundamental Theorem of Arithmetic. Participants' responses indicated that a possibility of alternative prime decompositions was often not overruled, and this influenced students' ability to make inferences regarding factors and divisors of…