A conceptual model of how children process televised information was developed with the goal of identifying those parameters of the process that are both measurable and manipulable in research settings. The model presented accommodates the nature of information processing both by the child and by the presentation by the medium. Presentation is…

In two experiments (N=210) conservers, transitional conservers, and nonconservers were directed to lie or pretend to other children that their judgments and explanations of a series of conservation problems were the opposite of what they really were. Nonconservers and transitional subjects in both studies made large and significant gains in…

A laboratory study was performed with four levels of discovery and two levels on an overlearning factor. An improved experimental paradigm was chosen so as to avoid a number of confusions which have obscured previous research. An operational definition was developed for discovery and guided discovery and discovery teaching, and inquiry learning.…

This study examined the relationship between convergent and divergent thinking and performance errors in reversal and nonreversal concept tasks. The results show: (1) a positive relationship between convergent performance and concept errors; and (2) an inverse relationship between divergent performance and concept errors. These correlational…

The purpose of these four studies (two pilot studies and two experiments) was to investigate the effects of verbal processes and dimensional preferences in children's learning and transfer. Experiment I investigated the effect of verbal instructions upon motor responses. Discriminate verbal instructions produced statistically significant higher…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of hypothesis testing instructions compared to brief instructions on the speed of shift problem solution of grade school age subjects, in order to provide information on the development of hypothesis testing behavior in children and the sampling characteristics of hypothesis testing in these…

In this essay, research done on concept learning is discussed. The study analyzes concept learning as one form of learning, formulating guidelines for teaching concepts, and describes the abilities underlying the attainment of concepts. An analytical model is presented; various operations such as concrete concepts and identity concepts are…

The authors briefly review some of the empirical studies which have compared discovery learning with expository learning. Essentially, their study replicates an earlier one in which these learning strategies were compared on two dimensions: (1) immediate acquisition; and (2) retention of concepts. Subjects were 228 seventh graders who had not…

Offers a rationale for interdisciplinary arts programs and presents examples of aims and outcomes from the Visual Arts Interdisciplinary Concepts Curriculum that the author and fellow teachers in Attleboro, Massachusetts, have been developing and refining for over a decade. (Editor/RK)

The first part of this research study examines how elementary students discover and understand certain relationships in nature. The second part investigates how pupils operate with overlapping concepts. (Author/RM)

The "property-set model" is proposed for concept learning and subsequent recognition and classification of old and new exemplars. In an experimental evaluation of alternative models, the property-set model was the best predictor of both recognition and classification performance. (Author/RM)

Explores the hypothesis that play can be a useful preliminary experience for the more advanced problem-solving involved in mathematical concept formation. (Author/RK)

Reports the results of one study in which parents taught their two- to four-year-olds basic and superordinate concepts, and another, in which they taught them subordinate concepts. Parents' teaching styles were analyzed in terms of their usefulness for children who are attempting to learn about principles of hierarchical classification. (AS)

Four teaching techniques were used to enhance conceptual learning and to increase student performance in a course in physical-chemical principles at the School of Pharmacy of the University of Missouri-Kansas City. One of the techniques, "concept overview," is described. (MLW)

The main purpose of the study was to investigate the effectiveness of conceptual change text (CCT) oriented instruction over traditionally designed instruction on students' understanding of electrochemical (galvanic and electrolytic) cell concepts. The subjects of the study consisted of 64 students from the two classes of a high school in Turkey.…