Exchanges of help between children are common and often have positive consequences. But not all help is equally beneficial, for example because some help does not provide an opportunity to practice and develop skills. Here I examine whether young children might perpetuate competence-based inequality by providing incompetent peers with less…

Social skills involved in leadership were examined in a problem-solving activity in which 252 Chinese 5th-graders worked in small groups on a spatial-reasoning puzzle. Results showed that students who engaged in peer-managed small-group discussions of stories prior to problem solving produced significantly better solutions and initiated…

This booklet examines the educational value of jigsaw puzzles and gives practical suggestions on how to select and make them for use by children ages 1 through 8. It asserts that jigsaw puzzles provide children with the opportunity to develop problem-solving strategies, and discusses a theory of adult-child interaction that encourages the…