A study investigated children's difficulty in learning color words and attempted to determine whether the difficulty was perceptual, conceptual, or linguistic. The subjects were 24 two-year-olds, half with knowledge of color words and half without, and a similar control group. The experimental subjects were given conceptual and comprehension tasks…

An instructional system that is both efficient and effective should present information so that it is easily processed by learners and so that the cognitive structures resulting from instruction correspond to the structure of the content to be learned. This paper presents a discussion of methods for describing content structure and cognitive…

The learning module described deals with the teaching of the skill of conceptualization through the development of categories. Included are exercises at defining and identifying concepts, concept formation and attainment, comparing and contrasting meanings of "statement of values, face and concept" along with others. Included in this descriptive…

An analysis and model of the cognitive processes underlying complex learning situations are presented. A theory is proposed that attempts to specify particular internal knowledge structures generated and modified during instruction, and to use them to explain specific difficulties that the learner experiences and also the overall progress being…

OVER 40 ARTICLES AND STUDIES RELATED TO THE PIAGETIAN THEORY OF COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT ARE CRITICALLY REVIEWED AS A BASIS FOR SUGGESTING APPLICATIONS OF THE THEORY TO EDUCATIONAL EVALUATION. PIAGET'S CONCEPTS ARE ANALYZED WITHIN TWO BROAD CATEGORIES, THE STAGE OF CONCRETE OPERATIONS, FROM APPROXIMATELY SEVEN TO 11 YEARS OF AGE, AND THE STAGE OF…

A TWO-YEAR SEMINAR IN LEARNING THEORY AND THE SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY OF EDUCATION WAS CONDUCTED FOR A FACULTY GROUP OF A SMALL PRIVATE LIBERAL ARTS COLLEGE. EIGHT VISITING RESEARCHERS IN PSYCHOLOGY AND EDUCATION PRESENTED THEIR WORK AND DISCUSSED ITS IMPLICATIONS FOR TEACHING AND LEARNING WITH RESPECT TO THE DISCIPLINES REPRESENTED BY 22 FACULTY…

The process of acquiring knowledge from texts is considered from two perspectives: the learning of the individual facts in the text, and the integration of the facts into a coherent representation reflecting relations among the facts. The former process is presumed to depend on the linguistics content of the text, while the latter process depends…

The research findings of Siegel, Wohlwill, Goodman, and others suggest that reading is a thinking skill which may be facilitated by the instruction of transferable problem-solving skills. In order to maximize learning in young children, it is important to provide opportunities which allow the exchange of information and concepts from one activity…

This study tested certain implied predictions regarding conceptual learning at each of four sequential levels of development: concrete level, identity level, classificatory level, and formal level. For this purpose, scaled batteries to assess the level of conceptual development of children, kindergarten through high school, were constructed and a…

While previous research has demonstrated a correspondence between measures of instructional content and psychological structure due to learning, this research report examines whether individual learner differences affect this correspondence. Individuals of the field independence psychological structure were expected to impose greater structure and…

THIS RESEARCH CONCERNING CONCEPTUAL BEHAVIOR INVESTIGATED BOTH THE DEVELOPMENTAL ASPECTS OF CONCEPTUAL BEHAVIOR IN A CONTROLLED LABORATORY SITUATION AND THE RELATIONSHIP OF CONCEPT LEARNING IN THIS LABORATORY SETTING TO ACHIEVEMENT IN CURRICULAR AREAS OF JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL. THE GENERAL PLAN FOR THIS STUDY INVOLVED STRATIFIED RANDOM SELECTION AND…

One of the most important capacities which children employ when learning language is the capacity to generalize. A child who hears an utterance of a verbal expression while perceiving a particular object (or action, aspect, etc.) becomes normally able to apply the expression not only to this object but also to all those objects which, for him, are…

Describes a multiple-choice instrument that reliably and validly diagnoses secondary students' understanding of photosynthesis and respiration in plants. Highlights the consistency of students' misconceptions across secondary levels and indicates a high percentage of students have misconceptions regarding plant physiology. (CW)

Discusses how children's knowledge can be measured/described, knowledge patterns across diverse concepts, interaction of knowledge/learning, and ways children construct more advanced problem-solving rules to replace less adequate ones. Evidence, drawn from studies on children's acquisition of knowledge about balance beams, suggests that knowledge…

This book brings a philosophical perspective to the topic of children's thinking. It attempts to answer the questions of what it is to think and understand, and how children do so. The book provides an introduction to the philosophy of education as it relates to children's understanding, and is careful not to assume any previous philosophical…