Discussed are Piaget's methods, his relation to other theories, and an overview of his theory. Described are the six stages of his sensorimotor period with a summary of imitation and play, and the concrete operations period with the subperiods of changes from sensorimotor in preoperation, differences from the adult in preoperation, and the…

For purposes of analysis, preschool language programs can be sorted into four general categories according to the dominant type of learning activity (1) Pattern practice, (2) Cognitive verbalization, (3) Discussion, (4) Role play. Along with definitions of language, the program types differ in the kinds of interactions which occur between teacher…

In the last few years, a rhetoric of inquiry has emerged to complement the rhetoric of the finished word. New interest in the "pre-writing" activities--e.g., audience analysis, concept formation, and the discovery of judgments which order and give meaning to experience--has manifested itself both in research into the nature of these activities and…

To determine if students learn better in a teaching situation that emphasizes their positive involvement and decreases the emotional threat to their self-esteem produced by the traditional question-answer approach, a study was conducted to compare the average achievement levels of two groups of literature students--one taught traditionally to…

The present project provided for the development of a detailed quantitative curriculum appropriate for use in Head Start classes, trial of the developed materials with preschool children in Hawaii, and preliminary assessment of the curriculum in comparison with a more spontaneous, informal quantitative classroom experience. Directions for tasks…

The Process Oriented Interactive Learning System postulated in this paper starts with the generation of a set of process objectives for children which are based on the principles of development - intellectual and social - and related to the substance of the basic goals which society holds for education: reading, language, number, independence, and…

The behaviors manifested by mothers of readers and mothers of nonreaders were observed as they taught their children two cognitive tasks. As a methodological control, both groups of mothers were required to teach two other children, one similar to and one different in ability from their own child. The subjects consisted of 40 first grade children,…

This volume of the Total Creativity Program outlines the rationale for teaching the thinking-feeling processes on which the program is based. It also suggests ways of implementing the program in the classroom. Although the program can be implemented by individual teachers, pilot studies found that a group training program was often helpful in…

Children in eight classes of the 5th and 6th grades were randomly assigned to four groups. Group 1 received no training in creative dramatics; Group 4 was trained in the use of creative dramatics and were taught by the creative dramatics technique. Group 2 children were trained in the technique, but were not taught the material by the use of the…

This National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) publication presents examples of science techniques and situations which provide opportunity for each child to practice the skills basic to science. The common theme in all of the techniques is that of active, personal participation to achieve individualization of instruction. It is believed that…

The study reported here builds on, and overcomes certain difficulties in, a previous study by Hunkins. The major focus of the research was to determine the relative effects on learning of two teaching techniques: one using 70% knowledge-level questions and 30% higher-level questions (Treatment A); the other using the reverse ratio (Treatment B).…

In training people to perform auditory identification tasks (e.g., training students to identify sound characteristics in a sonar classification task), it is important to know whether or not training procedures are merely sustaining performance during training or whether they enhance learning of the task. Often an incorrect assumption is made that…

A PRESENTATION WAS MADE OF THE ANALYSIS OF BEHAVIOR THAT IS REQUIRED AS A FIRST STEP IN THE PROCESS OF DEVELOPING PROCEDURES AND MATERIALS FOR "DISCOVERY LEARNING." TEACHING BY THE DISCOVERY METHOD IS DESCRIBED AS REQUIRING THAT A MINIMUM OF STRUCTURED INSTRUCTIONAL SEQUENCE BE IMPOSED TO ALLOW THE CHILD TO (1) LEARN BY DISCOVERY AND (2)…

A review of literature regarding the communicative approach to language teaching discusses achievements and problems with this approach, language learning and the social self, speech and cognition, and reactive and proactive initiative. The need to develop language learning environments which will enhance proactive initiative and self-reliance in…

Success in transaction and interaction in the foreign language classroom depends on teachers and students knowing the parts they have to play and how they relate to those that others have in learning encounters. Various roles of teachers and learners are defined. (CB)