A study used encapsulation and integration strategies to determine the effect of different learning strategies on transfer of learning. The instrument consisted of three forms with four parts each. Each form assessed a different learning strategy: encapsulation, integration, and the participant's own learning strategy. The functions for each of…

This paper examines Lev Vygotsky's theory concerning the zone of proximal development (ZPD) in children and its relevance to early childhood education. As per Vygotsky's "Mind in Society" (1978), ZPD is the difference between a child's "actual development level as determined by independent problem solving" and the…

Students set in their ways are usually reluctant, as a general rule, to deal with open-ended investigative scenarios. In order to acquaint the student with the physical method and philosophical thought process of the discipline, the tone of the course must be set early on. The present study was conducted to develop scenarios and microbial model…

Noting the research finding that children watch an average of 20 to 25 violent acts per hour on Saturday morning cartoons, this paper discusses cartoon violence and presents the findings of a survey examining children's ability to differentiate between real and fantasy violence in television cartoons and the impact of such violence. Participating…

Challenging the prevailing belief that the first 3 years of a child's life comprise the most critical period for development, this book maintains that although there is valid scientific evidence for the existence of critical periods, the same research points to learning and development occurring throughout life. The book asserts that too many…

The objectives of this paper are: to briefly describe how teaching portfolios, in tandem with the Teaching/Learning Framework (Sprinthall & Thies-Sprinthall, 1983) can be employed as a developmental intervention to promote stage growth in teacher candidates; to report developmental stage change (moral judgment/principled thinking) results from…

Recent research has begun to suggest that epistemological beliefs of students develop to a more sophisticated level with age and education, while other preliminary studies have found that community college students tend to have more naive beliefs about learning and knowledge than do students attending four-year colleges and universities. The…

This special issue of the Mensa Research Journal contains four papers written by K. Warner Schaie, a psychologist who focuses on psychological development from young adulthood through old age. The first paper is "Living with Gerontology." In it, Schaie recounts his own childhood, adolescence, and young adulthood, his path to becoming a…

The ability to express one's mathematical thoughts in writing and computational proficiency can be viewed as reflecting different aspects of an individual's understanding of mathematics. Computational proficiency is the primary means used by educators to assess students' understanding of mathematics and thus in the mathematics classroom, cognitive…

This study examined how campus peer culture influences the ways in which multiracial students make meaning of their racial identity, and applies Urie Bronfenbrenner's ecological model of cognitive development to analyze elements in the college environment that stimulate or inhibit identity development. Discussion of the situation of multiracial…

There is growing evidence supporting the powerful role that maternal education plays in child growth and cognitive development in developing countries. This study examined the contribution of maternal literacy in mediating the relationship between maternal education and variation in child outcomes from birth to 7 years of age. It was hypothesized…

This paper reviews recent research on the determinants of educational outcomes and the impact of those outcomes on other socioeconomic phenomena. It investigates the relationship between education and economic growth and development in emerging countries. The paper addresses school policies that are most cost-effective in producing students with…

As policymakers have sought to balance the goal of fostering poor children's well-being with that of encouraging adult's self-sufficiency, public assistance has become more predicated on custodial parents' involvement in work or mandatory welfare-to-work programs. This summary report examines the effects of welfare-to-work programs implemented as…

This book is intended to help educators understand how students learn and what teachers can do to foster student achievement. It explains how diverse developmental needs, such as lack of self-esteem or cultural alienation, can be at the root of a student's learning difficulties. Case studies illustrate the ways educators can assess and resolve…

Noting that gender may be an important issue when studying relations between attachment and social functioning, four studies explored whether the relationship between children's internal working models of attachment and their general functioning was gender specific. A total of 246 children, ages 5 to 10 years, were given the Separation Anxiety…