Seven- and eight-year-old children were given two memory trials on each of five consecutive days. Results indicate that children who were given only demonstrations and directions to use particular mnemonic strategies did not perform as well as children who were provided explanations and feedback regarding the mnemonic value of these actions. (MP)

Explores the role of symbolic play in the cognitive and psychic development of the normal child and describes the autistic child. Reviews a model treatment program for autism developed at the City College of New York, discussing the therapeutic role of symbolic play in that model. (Author/MJL)

Argues that bibliotherapy can be used to help children develop reading comprehension skill and to use that skill to understand their own personal and social development in a better way. Provides a list of books suitable for bibliotherapy. (FL)

Discusses experiments in different school systems in New York and Massachusetts that incorporate Herman T. Epstein's theory of brain development. Many of the programs are aimed at helping teachers identify student cognitive levels and adopt techniques for reaching children at different levels. (WD)

Introduces children's librarians to the theories of cognitive growth in children formulated by Jean Piaget. An annotated bibliography of three primary and 16 secondary references is provided to promote insight and to reinforce commitment to children's services. Five references are listed. (RAA)

Outlines a theory of cognitive development designed to be useful in defining an ideal education and discusses the practical steps for achieving educational goals. Three stages of cognitive development are proposed and their implications for curriculum content and teaching strategies are discussed. (AM)

Discusses the effect of bilingualism on cognitive growth and divergent thinking. That bilinguals have the potential for increased communication and greater problem solving should encourage United States' educators to consider bilingual education as a curriculum model for almost everyone. (Author)

Fred Wood and Steven Thompson claim that inservice educational practices should be changed because, first, more adults are operating at a lower stage of cognitive development than previously believed, and, second, adults prefer learning in informal social situations. This article challenges the adequacy of the research analysis underlying these…

Defends the claims made in an earlier publication by the authors that inservice programs should be more experiential because the cognitive development of adults is less uniformly advanced than previously supposed and because experiential learning is more effective. Cites additional supportive research. (PGD)

Children were asked to judge the life qualities of a stimulus, justify their judgment, and judge again, after being given an anomalous probe. Analysis indicated younger children were unable to adhere to an original judgment when probed, while older children were. Results may reconcile previous empirical discrepancies in Piagetian research.…

Two stages of skill development are: declarative (facts are interpreted) and procedural (knowledge is embodied in skill procedures). Knowledge compilation moves skills from the declarative to procedural stage in subprocesses of composition, which collapses sequences of productions into single productions, and proceduralization, which embeds…

Results showed that students in grades two and four could be differentiated on the basis of simultaneous-successive factor scores and that the differentiation into high-high and low-low cognitive processing subgroups also differentiated Ss in their phonological awareness, disambiguation of ambiguities, appreciation of incongruities and riddles,…

The author describes an evaluation of persons with suspected learning disabilities. Two types of tests are considered (mental maturity and basic language skills) and examples of each are given. Sample profiles exhibiting irregular development of aptitudes are provided and observations from informal as well as formal assessment are suggested. (CL)

The relation between Piaget's logical theory of formal operational thinking and his account of cognitive development is discussed. Formal operational thinking was found to be a unitary construct, and both heterogeneity of performance and decalage were found to be smaller than a recent review had suggested. (Author/KC)

Indicates how research about the physiology and chemistry of the brain verifies the educational applications of Piaget's theory. Discusses maturation, experience, social transmission, and equilibration. (Author/DC)