To investigate the hypothesis that cognitive rules govern writing behavior, Carter's signaled stopping technique was used to study language and cognitive effects in public relations messages. Principles from Grunig, et al (1985) Axiomatic Theory of Cognition and Writing, which proposed premises, axioms and definitions about writing, were applied…

Perspectives on the need for consistency in considering the promotion of conceptual change in science students and teachers (and in some circumstances, researchers) are presented in this paper. The parallels between the consequences of this consistency and the literature on educational change are also highlighted. A particular focus is directed to…

This paper focuses on some main distinctions that are necessary to analyze mathematical knowledge from a learning point of view and explain how many students come up against difficulties at each level of the curriculum. From a learning point of view, visualization cannot be used as an immediate and obvious support for understanding, even though it…

Constructs the philosophical background and underpinnings of the Science Education Portfolio Instruction and Assessment (SEPIA) project. Explains that students must develop skills in order to participate in epistemic interchanges. They must also be provided opportunities and materials to develop those skills. Contains 29 references. (DDR)

Distinguishes between psychological constructivist and social constructivist groups. Explains the reasons for the growing acrimony in debates between the two groups. Discusses social constructivist accounts of the causes of belief in science. Contains 43 references. (DDR)

Presents three studies that demonstrate the efficiency of the kinesthetic conflict in promoting the understanding of three scientific concepts among children aged 5-12. Results support Piaget's theory which determines the origins of scientific thinking. Contains 26 references. (DDR)

Documents the patterns of coherence and persistence in energy conceptions. Describes the derivation of the Interview Vee technique and the procedure for putting an interview on the Vee. Discusses the production of Vee maps to help understand childrens' learning of concepts. (CW)

Reviews recent research in the area of mathematical understanding and compares and contrasts it with a model formulated for the growth of understanding. Uses the analysis of a transcript from an interview with an eight-year-old boy to illustrate the power of the model to describe and map the growth of his mathematical understanding. (18…

Advocates artificial neural networks as models for cognition and development. Provides an example of how such models work in the context of a well-known Piagetian developmental task and school science activity: balance beam problems. (Contains 59 references.) (Author/WRM)

In this article, the author gives a general introduction of a few ideas on cognitive development in children. In the first part, he deals with the topic of development, a process which concerns the totality of the structures of knowledge. He reviews the stages of development of operational structures, distinguishes four main stages of development,…

This paper outlines the constructivist approach to teaching and learning and reviews some of the literature to establish a linkage between constructivist theories of learning and humanistic psychology. In particular, the paper recognizes the work of Carl Rogers and suggests that his contributions to the professional literature on teaching and…

This paper advocates for the improvement of presentational methods of teaching and expository learning, based on David Ausubel's theory of Meaningful Verbal Learning and its derivative, the Advance Organizer Model of Teaching. This approach to teaching enables teachers to convey large amounts of information as meaningfully and efficiently as…

This paper discusses the relationship between the mediation of task performance by some structure that is not inherent in the task domain itself and the phenomenon of automatization, in which skilled performance becomes effortless or phenomenologically "automatic" after extensive practice. The use of a common simple explicit mediating…

Critically examines papers by Wellman and Estes, Olson and Torrance, and Hall and Nagy. (AEW)

The premise behind the cognitive approach to teaching is that understanding results when new learning is integrated with existing knowledge. But the goal of science instruction is to replace existing ideas with new theories. Current research in science education seeks to resolve these conflicting instructional approaches. (Author/VM)