Presents theoretical perspectives of change of Benne, Chin, Lewin, and Rogers, and draws out strategies that designers of games, simulations, and workshops may find useful. Highlights include rational/empirical, normative/re-educative, and power/coercive strategies; Lewin's force-field model; and Rogers' stage model. (MBR)

Reports that although the traditional domain of developmental lag models has been dyslexia, this type of model is actually more helpful as an aid to understanding the normal achievement variations found among nondyslexic children. (FL)

Reviews bases for contemporary discontinuity theories of mental development, presents findings that support alternative proposition of continuity and scrutinizes assessment methods from which these continuity results derive. Also offers several models that help explain the continuity findings, and argues that individual differences in mental…

Contrasts a child not ready for school with a child who is developmentally prepared to enter school and argues that if all school systems could administer and interpret the results of a developmental examination, the number of unhappy children, special needs children, and grade overplaced children would be greatly reduced. (HOD)

Maintains that decisions regarding evaluation should be made in relationship to learning principles based on a developmental perspective. Using these principles as a basis, teachers are better able to select appropriate formal and informal evaluation procedures. Each procedure is defined and its limitations are discussed in terms of effectiveness.…

The effects of four major types of expository text on the comprehension performance of 69 third and 69 sixth graders were investigated. Results suggest that knowledge of discourse types underlies effective expository comprehension and that this ability increases as children reach the upper elementary grades. (BS)

Describes a study of mothers' observations of fourth-grade boys' reading habits. The results indicated that the boys' reading did not really decrease as they grew older, but rather, that their interests were expanding into what is considered a "male literacy," which begins to include less and less sharing of reading experiences with their mothers.…

Traces the process of gender identity through the period of development and links it to social competence. Describes three stages--gender awareness, gender orientation, and gender identity--and outlines their characteristics. Discusses implications of this view, especially in relation to Bem's concept of androgyny. (Author/KH)

Observations of four students, from their second through fourth grades, as they evaluated compositions revealed, among other findings, that (1) affective responses tend to dominate quality judgments, (2) the number of criteria children used in arriving at quality judgments increased over time, and (3) evaluation criteria are used in both planning…

This annotated listing cites resources on geography and geographical education from the ERIC data base. Resources for both elementary and secondary teachers, including classroom materials and background readings, are provided. (RM)

Results showed a number of significant developmental changes in students' nonverbal communication as perceived by teachers. (PD)

Supports findings from earlier research showing that older students are more aware of organizational structure, more precise in assessing information, and better able to deal with logical relationships than are younger students. (FL)

As a result of discussions at a 1983 Social Science Research Council meeting, a study group was convened to bring together all the professionals currently examining maturation timing. This interdisciplinary group reports findings in two issues of this journal, and its work is introduced in this paper. (LMO)

Dr. Jeanne S. Chall discusses her research on the stages of reading development from prekindergarten through college and its implications for classroom teaching. (MBR)

Reveals no gender segregation in peer groups until age six, through observations of 152 rural Kenyan children, 18 months to nine years of age. Developmental trends in gender segregation of children's peers are correlated with systematic changes in their environments. (Author/AS)