Academic achievement of pupils working in small cooperation groups was compared to that of students taught in the traditional whole-class approach. Pupils in grades 2, 4 and 6 from small-group classrooms excelled on high level items; the groups did not differ on items measuring low level cognitive functioning. (Author/GSK)

Addresses the problem of how to adapt a "talking treatment" for use with abusive and neglectful families. The concept of a family's "verbal accessibility," or readiness to communicate, can assist workers in understanding these families and designing the most effective plan for treatment. (Author)

The author introduces some constructs that provide a linkage between the Piagetian theory of cognitive development and curriculum analysis: externalization and automatization; the intellective unconscious; and the logical substructure of the task. He then offers some examples of developmental analysis of secondary level curriculum materials.…

The efficacy of small group instructional activities dealing with transitive inference, conservation, and class inclusion of length was investigated in a sample of kindergarten (N=44) and first grade (N=45) boys and girls. (Author/MP)

Examines the educational challenges created by complex health care delivery systems and the need to train analysts and problem solvers to work effectively within these systems. Illustrates, through a course description, how cognitive and experiential learning approaches can provide the student with a bridge between acquiring technical skills and…

Presents a framework for characterizing the emotional impact of day care environments, using pleasure, arousal, and dominance-submissiveness dimensions to predict children's emotional reactions to day care and to separation from their parents, their active involvement in day care, and the extended effects of day care on their cognitive…

Reviews research pertaining to various aspects of early cognitive development in deaf children. (CM)

Argues that altruism among preschool children is dependent upon children's understanding of a variety of complex cognitive and social skills and that these skills can, to some extent, be facilitated by appropriate training programs. (Author/MP)

Discusses the need for mathematics teaching to be matched to children's understanding rather than to the demands of mathematics. Illustrations are given from the results of testing British children by the Concepts in Secondary Mathematics and Science (CSMS) Project, Chelsea College, University of London. (HM)

Traces change in conception of gravity in a boy from kindergarten until second grade, focusing on the process by which persons restructure ideas that differ from accepted scientific understandings, and acquire scientific ideas. Provides criteria for defining an alternative conception; suggests how conditions in the initial interview may have…

Tested assumption that variability in home literacy environments has no effect on individual differences in reading development. Found that variability in shared reading interactions was significantly related to growth in phonological awareness even after accounting for the effects of age, oral language, and phonological awareness at the beginning…

Summarizes progressions between 2 and 6 years of age in children's power of concentration, ability to express ideas, build logical relationships, structure spoken words, and play with the semantic, phonetic, syntactical, and morphological aspects of oral language. Notes that the progression depends on the educator's interaction with the child.…

A study of 40 medical students assessing the effectiveness of problem-based learning (PBL) determined that cognitive measures associated with expert performance can be used to distinguish students who have participated in PBL from their counterparts in terms of knowledge, reasoning, and learning strategies. Includes a case study of an 11-year-old…

Questions what attributes and approaches are most effective and essential for a primary school to achieve their mission. Identifies three attributes: (1) success (defined here as establishing the primary mission as the successful development of the child); (2) wonder (referring to techniques that inspire this response); and (3) confidence. (MJP)

Examined influences on African-American children's cognitive development between 6 months and 8 years. Found that more optimal patterns of development were associated with intensive early educational child care, responsive home stimulation, and higher maternal IQ. Child care experiences were related to cognitive performance through enhancing…