Reviews recent research on retention that is demonstrated without conscious recollection, such as the ability to tie shoelaces or drive a car. Suggests that future research in this field may have implications for such educational issues as the transfer of training and the carryover of abstract classroom learning to problems in other contexts. (EVL)

Reviews evidence on development of competence in decision making during adolescence focusing on cognitive aspects. Discusses indicators of competence: choice, comprehension, creativity, compromise, consequentiality, correctness, credibility, consistency, and commitment. Evidence suggests that many adolescents show reliable level of competence in…

Results of two experiments with five-year-olds indicated that: (1) conservation can be quickly taught with lasting results; (2) training on a limited range of exemplars will produce generalized correct responses to other, untrained classes of conservation problems; and (3) children's explanations of their judgments change as a result of exposure…

The article offers suggestions for helping gifted elementary students learn to use independent thinking skills to challenge their own thinking as well as to solve mathematical problems. (DB)

Reports observations of the use of mental aerobics with 48 adults whose median age was 70. Provides examples of the group puzzles and logic, math, and word problems used to enhance cognitive functioning and creative thinking. (SK)

Four experiments assessed infants' ability to solve isomorphic problems and explored the nature of early representations. Found that 13-month-olds transferred a modeled strategy across isomorphic problems, whereas 10-month-olds transferred only after multiple source problems or high perceptual similarity between problems. Comprehension of the…

The outcomes of collaboration provide an incomplete and potentially misleading picture of cognitive change, one that is clarified by examining the collaborative processes themselves. Results from a study illustrate the dangers of focusing solely on the consequences of collaboration and emphasize why the analysis of collaborative processes is…

The ability of students in grades 1-12 to generate proofs of theorems in an unfamiliar, one axiom, abstract system was investigated. There were no significant differences in performance of two levels of secondary students; fourth- through sixth-grade students were also able to develop proofs, but needed more time. (SD)

Infants' exploration of their environment has been considered by Piaget and others to provide a vehicle for cognitive development. Little research, however, has examined in detail what infants actually do while exploring or how exploratory behavior is related to other aspects of cognitive functioning. The present investigation was designed to…

Because research indicates that specific cognitive deficiencies do exist for hearing-impaired individuals (though the normal range of intellectual potential exists among the hearing-impaired as a group), Instrumental Enrichment (IE), an approach developed originally in response to the need for mediated learning experiences for culturally…

The paper reports observations from a 2-year investigation of teaching/learning processes as they occurred during microcomputer instruction in three special education schools. Factors in the learner and/or learning environment are analyzed for their effects on the development of problem solving strategies. Part 1 reports observations of behavior…

Chapter 4 in Life Skills in School and Society.

Research supported by National Science Foundation grant GE-3 to the University of Minnesota.

One hundred fifty-six gifted elementary students (grades 3 through 6) responded to the Coopersmith Self Esteem Inventory on a pre- and posttest basis during a 3 week, 45 hour College for Kids program, designed as an enrichment program with focus on critical thinking, problem solving, inquiry, research, and questioning. Thirty students responded to…

A group of children were presented with several tasks, including the invention of a sleep machine and a machine to weigh elephants. The tasks were chosen to involve the children in coping with problems of a distinct character. A study of the children's drawings and interpretations shows that children's thinking ability is not very different from…