The last two years of primary school in Trinidad and Tobago are marked by preparation for national standardized tests. The focus on preparing for these tests impacts teaching and learning strategies, as there is a shift to teacher centered classrooms and teaching strategies that depend on rote learning and memorization. This study explored how…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the alignment between the fourth-grade summative classroom assessments and the 'Matter and Energy' unit in the Lebanese science curriculum using: content and cognitive levels. Summative assessments were collected from a sample of 17 schools. The alignment between the classroom assessments and the…

Analyzes selected aspects of Piaget's theory of cognitive development and offers guidelines for primary social studies curricula based on the analysis. (CM)

Tests the hypothesis that teachers can learn about and use a psychological curriculum without extensive prior study of psychology, and that students will show gain in depth of self-perception and higher levels of psychological maturity. (Author/RP)

Concludes that children have a far broader range of intellectual interests than has generally been recognized. Bringing them into contact with fields of knowledge, methods of inquiry in these fields, and the processes of logical reasoning at a time when they have a natural receptivity which can have a fundamental impact on their intellectual…

Points out that children have difficulty learning time concepts. Presents instructional activities for concepts associated with clocks, calendars, and chronology. Outlines Jerome Bruner's three different stages of representation for each concept: enactive, iconic, and symbolic. (DB)

Discusses the methodology, materials, and results of teaching critical thinking to 20 third graders. (RL)

Describes the Concept Learning Project (CLP) that investigates how children in Southeast Asia Learn mathematics and science concepts based on the thinking levels of children, using Piagetian theory. Results of field trials in Thailand are presented. (HM)

Summarizes research on how children think about economic ideas and values and the development of such thinking. Explores the influence of instruction on children's thinking about economics and points out implications for curriculum and instruction. (RH)

Discusses the role of language development in educational achievement and the implications of this role for curriculum development. Children's preschool knowledge of language and its development in early school years is discussed. How their language experiences in school might enhance their language development also is outlined. Highlighted are…

Investigated whether 3- to 6-year-olds in a Montessori school created more symmetrical than asymmetrical designs when working with building materials. Found that symmetry occurred in designs of children as young as age 3, with the tendency increasing with age. Examined the need for increased use of building materials for teaching symmetry in the…

Noting that assumptions about the teaching and learning of early childhood mathematics have changed substantially since the 1970s, this chapter examines recent research that may inform curriculum development in early childhood mathematics. The chapter begins with a consideration of the theoretical perspectives for defining an appropriate…

Thirty-four 5- to 11-year-old children, classified as concrete or preoperational on a conservation task, were asked questions during individual interviews about food and snacks, the changes food undergoes, and the effects of food on their bodies. Implications for nutrition curriculum and instruction based on the findings are discussed. (DS)

The Durham Education Improvement Program (EIP) seeks to develop new organizational patterns and instructional systems in ongoing classrooms which would foster the educational and social development of disadvantaged North Carolina children. A small-scale model school system (consisting of three schools in target areas and a laboratory school) was…

Explores the importance of play in the cognitive, social, emotional, and physical development of young children. Functional, constructive, and dramatic play, and games with rules, are examined. Suggests that play is a powerful curricular tool for the kindergarten and primary classroom. Investigates ways to integrate play into the curriculum and to…