This study describes the emerging mathematical understanding of one student enrolled in an elementary mathematics content course. Through the medium of her journal entries, a portrait of Elena's struggle to overcome her difficulty with mathematics and construct conceptual knowledge emerges. Though these struggles are not unique, Elena's story is…

As part of a larger project concerned with the development of changes in children's understanding of meaning as they become literate, this study examined the age at which listeners begin to acknowledge paraphrasing as a legitimate response to questions about the utterances of characters in stories. Subjects were 54 native English speakers from…

This book is a compilation of recent research on the development of multiplicative concepts. The sections and chapters are: (1) Theoretical Approaches: "Children's Multiplying Schemes" (L. Steffe), "Multiplicative Conceptual Field: What and Why?" (G. Vergnaud), "Extending the Meaning of Multiplication and Division" (B. Greer); (2) The Role of the…

This paper demonstrates a method for constructing long variables using items that elicit partically correct responses across ages. Long variables may be defined by students at different ages (year levels) attempting common items within a test containing other items considered to be appropriate for each age or year level. A developmental model of…

This paper reviews the current social studies literature on temporal perspective as a psychological phenomenon and relates that literature to the Piagetian paradigm of development. It discusses the contemporary viewpoints on the nature of time and temporality. The paper outlines the distinctions between the Piagetian paradigm and the Vygotskian…

The literature on human aggression is large and diverse. Some of it is theory-driven, but much of it dwells on solving social problems rather than on building general models and research paradigms. This paper examines some of the research programs and theoretical emphases in aggression research and presents theory convergences to see how these…

All contemporary learning theorists agree on the advantages of involving students in authentic problem-solving activities in both in-school and out-of-school contexts. Approaches which use real-world problems as learning tools fit well with: (1) the strategy-based, performance model advanced by information processors; (2) the impasse or…

This book examines recent theoretical and empirical contributions in the field of interest research. Chapters in part one address some general questions in the study of interest, while those in part two cover individual interest and learning in school. Chapters in part three examine situational interest, and the chapters in part four present…

This study examined three elements of the mother-child relationship that have been found to influence cognitive development: (1) the child's security of attachment to the mother; (2) the sensitivity of the mother to her child's cues; and (3) maternal work status during the child's first year of life. Considered are the relationship of each of…

The handouts from the Ohio conference PACE (Positive Approaches to Children's Education) VI are presented. Among them are: (1) "Hugs" (submitted by A. Braselton); (2) "Rhythmic Activities for 2001" (L. Hardman); (3) "A Strategy for Cognitive Development in Physical Education" (C. Regimal); (4) "It's the Kids That…

Constructivism has received considerable attention in educational scholarship, practitioner preparation, and policy formation. This Digest identifies major forms of constructivism, considering issues and challenges that surface when implementing constructivist approaches to preservice and inservice teacher education. Constructivism is an…

This study investigated the perceptions of kindergarten teachers and Project Head Start teachers on how well Head Start students are prepared emotionally, socially, intellectually, and physically for kindergarten. The sample included 12 kindergarten teachers and 12 Head Start teachers in a county school system located in northeast Tennessee. The…

This research explores the moment-by-moment understanding students exhibit in the learning of a non-physical science domain--the human circulatory system. The goal was to understand how students learn by capturing the nature of their initial mental models (naive conceptions), and by seeing how new information gets assimilated into their mental…

College students who have had Advanced Placement (AP) English in high school often present motivational or other problems for instructors of first-year college composition. These students often resist instruction or have difficulty working successfully in writing groups with peers. However, often these students' work is not outstanding or even…

This article discusses the Cognitive Enrichment Network Model (COGNET) of elementary school instruction developed at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville. This model is largely based on the theory of mediated learning experience (MLE) developed by Israeli psychologist Reuven Feuerstein, which posits that learning is closely connected to…