The elementary social studies curriculum should be restructured in a way that promotes a broader study of people, places, and events that are distant in space and time. The "Expanding Horizons" framework guides social studies curriculum in New Brunswick, as well as in many other Canadian provinces and the United States. It emphasizes moving from…

This book is the result of the accumulated research of five researchers from the United States and Australia on a school in Coastal Australia. The research team shared a constructivist epistemology and interpreted the qualitative and quantitative data collected over a 10-week period in two classrooms from that perspective. Each chapter discusses…

According to the ACT theory of skill acquisition, cognitive skills are encoded by a set of productions, which are organized according to a hierarchical goal structure. People solve problems in new domains by applying weak problem-solving procedures to declarative knowledge they have about this domain. From these initial problem solutions,…

Since May 1980, participants in the Early Adolescent Project at Brooklyn College of the City University of New York have studied the early adolescent as a learner in a series of colloquia, discussions, and observations. The purpose of the study has been to develop recommendations for schooling of the early adolescent and for continuing and…

Descriptive and evaluative information is provided in this report on Project COMPAS (Consortium for Operating and Managing Programs for the Advancement of Skills), a cooperative effort between seven community colleges which developed cognitive skills programs for entry-level freshmen. Chapter I reviews the unique features of Project COMPAS,…

The document compares and contrasts the Standard Average European (SAE) and the Standard Native American (SNA) viewpoints with regard to fostering cognitive development in children. One basic difference is demonstrated by relating a story and noting that, in terms of Native American cognitive development, no further teaching would be done. In…

Prereading assessment was first used to predict school readiness and was an assessment of the child's visual and oral vocabulary skills. By the 1970s, readiness assessment had changed from assessment of a child's developmental probability for success or failure in reading to an assessment of the child's skill development in relation to the reading…

The cognitive preferences of 250 seventh grade students in social studies classes were examined, using the Cognitive Preference Profile (CPP). Each item in the CPP contains a stem statement and restatements of the stem that reflect memory, application, and questioning options. Pre- and post-test scores for the CPP were used as covariates with the…

SPEAKING AN ORAL LANGUAGE AND SPEAKING A WRITTEN LANGUAGE INVOLVE DIFFERENT PATTERNS OF LANGUAGE USE WHICH ARE IN TURN RELATED TO DIFFERENT EDUCATIONAL METHODS AND DIFFERENT COURSES OF COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT. BECAUSE ORAL SPEECH RELIES ON CONTEXT FOR COMMUNICATION, A COMMON CONTEXT AND POINT OF VIEW IS ASSUMED BY THE SPEAKER TO EXIST BETWEEN THE…

This bibliography, made up of approximately 350 entries concerned with many aspects of problem solving and concept formation in young children, has been designed for use by people primarily involved in experimental research in these areas of child development. Entries include experimental journal articles, conference papers, unpublished research…

The challenges facing education today, in particular the educational programs for children aged 3 to 6, are found to be many and varied, with the failures in urban settings pointing up the need for different and responsive learning environments. In the development of alternatives to current conditions in the schools today, the following are…

This summary report to the families of the subject children involved in the Pre-School Project outlines in a non-technical manner the methods and category systems used to examine the information gathered and to interpret the findings drawn from the data. The two major interests of the Pre-School Project were: (1) the moment-to-moment experience of…

Describes the cyclical nature of a problem-solving sequence produced from observing children involved in the process. Discusses the generic qualities of science: (1) observing; (2) inferring; (3) classifying; (4) predicting; (5) controlling variables; and (6) hypothesizing. Explains the processes in use and advantages of a process-led course. (RT)

Describes a study which was designed to determine the effect of a 25-hour introductory qualitative analysis course on high school students' understanding of formal concepts related to electrolytes. Suggests that introductory concrete experiences better prepare students to deal with more formal abstract concepts. (TW)

Why traditional teaching in economics education persists despite knowledge of learning processes and better approaches is discussed. Other approaches which permit the development of emotional and personal qualities as well as enrich the cognitive dimension are covered. These include brainstorming, role-playing games, and programed and…