New research has found a clear connection between nutrition and learning. This document highlights the importance of good nutrition in preparing children to learn and identifies California schools' crucial role in building healthy eating habits. The role of nutrition services in a comprehensive school health system--including the development of a…

Schemas are cognitive structures or forms of thought, like pieces of ideas or concepts. Patterns in children's behavior, or in their drawings and paintings, indicate common themes or threads (schemas) running through them. The action research study described in this report examined the effects on children's learning of intervening in their…

Physics learning involves a change in the habitual perception of the everyday world. In order to describe the real world scientifically, an individual must develop perception and cognition capable of reconstructing the world from raw sensory data and incorporating acquired knowledge of the scientific community. The introductory physics student…

This document contains papers and transcripts from a university faculty colloquium which shared views about teaching methods and information on successful approaches. Following a copy of the colloquium announcement and a brief introduction, the main section presents transcripts of the presentations. The first discusses the structure and role of…

This paper describes a computer-simulation model of the way in which basic reasoning processes develop in children. The model, based on PRISM-II programming language, was designed to reflect the manner in which world knowledge can be used to construct strategies for reasoning. The model learns strategies for performing transitive inference by…

This book addresses the critical issues, as well as contemporary approaches, used to deal with the developmental, social, intellectual, and coping problems of low-birthweight infants and their families. Following an introduction by I. E. Sigel, the chapters are: (1) "Past, Present, and Future Directions in Research on the Development of…

This paper reviews traditional, male-orientated theories of college student development, along with more recent theories that address the experiences of college women, and presents an analysis and synthesis of both groups of theoretical constructs. Student development is defined in terms of academic, personal, and professional achievement and…

The introductory chapter clarifies key terms and lays the background for different theories of moral development. Chapter 2 surveys competing models from various schools of thought on the initial origins of morality in childhood. The works discussed include those of Freud, Jung and Piaget. Chapter 3 includes: Erik H. Erikson's sociocultural…

A college composition instructor who approached her course from a feminist perspective found it difficult to overcome students' arguments and frustration until she obtained the help of an ethnographer. The ethnographer got involved with the instructor's evening classes on a regional campus for an entire semester. It was discovered that male and…

Peer relations contribute substantially to both social and cognitive development. The essentials of friendship are reciprocity and commitment between individuals who see themselves more or less as equals. Affiliation and common interests, the main themes in friendship relations, are first understood in early childhood. Friends serve as emotional…

Derived from the first phase of a research study entitled "The Cognitive and Social Development of Pre-School Children in Singapore" (the IE-BvLF study), the essays in this collection focus on the language, numeracy, cognitive, and social development of approximately 3,000 Singapore children between 1983 and 1986. Following a prologue…

This study examined the relationship between the structure of narrative and false belief understanding in young children. A group of 109 children between 38 and 63 months were randomly assigned to one of two groups. Children in the first group watched a story on video, while children in the second group shared the same story in book format. The…

This book for teachers and administrators describes an approach to teaching that requires students to think, analyze, problem solve, and make meaning of what they have learned. Designed to be a companion guide to Teaching for Understanding: Linking Research with Practice, it shows teachers how to use the four critical components of the teaching…

This study reports on the historical conceptualization among Finnish 12-13 year-olds who were given a projective task to yield historical thinking. The case study examines expressions the subjects used and which were studied qualitatively, using "chunks of meaning" as units of analysis, in regard to both their meaning- content and their…

This booklet provides an overview of stages and levels of cognitive development. Particular attention is given to language skills, the growth of understanding and memory, levels of thinking, altruism, and conscience. The importance of parents' influence on the development of their child's thinking abilities is emphasized. Nine resources that…