This study examined adult students' informal knowledge of percent and its relationship to their computational skills. Sixty adults studying in urban and suburban adult education programs were interviewed to ascertain: (1) their ideas of the meanings of benchmark percents, 100%, 50%, and 25%, as they appear in advertising and media contexts; (2)…

Based on the hypothesis that teachers possessing extensive and coherent knowledge structures are the most effective teachers, this paper explores the use of a modified ordered tree (OT) technique for measuring teachers' knowledge structures. Two questions are posed: (1) Can a modified OT technique be used to measure teachers' knowledge structures?…

This paper presents two general approaches to the assessment of knowledge structures, the first of which entails the building of empirical evidence to support cognitive theory. This type of assessment is concerned with attempting to prove the existence of various knowledge structures; that is, evidence that leads to the construct validity of these…

This paper examines the category-theoretic formulation of cognitive development introduced by Piaget in the late 1960's and elaborated during the 1970's. The new theory is interpreted as the focal point of Piaget's investigations into topics such as function, correspondences, and commutability. Hypotheses arising from Piaget's new model were…

Some feel that a persistent shortcoming of the collective views of human action is that they often advocate a view of the individual as merely a bearer or token for the group to which he or she belongs. These theories do not account for individual choice. This project attempts to arrive at a general critique of individualism, drawing on a number…

The science learning cycle developed by Robert Karplus and others in the 1960's has been a useful model for many science teachers and researchers. This model stresses the use of structured inquiry to organize knowledge acquisition and problem solving. Recent research in the cognitive science tradition, however, has shown that learning and problem…

Chemists have bemoaned for years their students' inability to solve problems in introductory chemistry courses. However, at least part of this inability must be attributed to the fact that chemists have historically tried to teach their students to solve problems by doing nothing more than working examples. In recent years, chemists have begun to…

Cognitive psychology's most useful contribution to dramatic theory is the concept of schemata, or the mental structures that make up part of the perceptual cycle. In regard to an audience-oriented dramatic theory, this suggests that analysis of a script ought to identify the sorts of schemata that are to be aroused in the audience's minds and the…

Reports the results of a study that investigated kindergarten children's understanding of historical concepts and the sources of that knowledge. Concludes that though the children in this study had a rudimentary knowledge of the past, acquired mainly from parents and pictures, kindergarteners are largely unable to understand simple concepts of…

Presents an associational model for the diffusion of complex innovations which describes stages that individuals go through when adopting new ideas. The model was tested in a study that examined the cognitive structures of individuals at different stages in the adoption of computer-assisted legal research systems. (31 references) (Author/CLB)

Cognitive performance can be improved through the explicit instruction of strategies that produce good performance. Variations in the ability to access knowledge relevant to specific materials that might affect strategy use, students' perceptions of strategies, and strategy maintenance are considered. (TJH)

States that Clandinin and Connelly (1987) provide a useful basis for examining teachers' personal knowledge and argues that the personal knowledge that most influences teachers' instructional practice may not be beliefs or theories, but rather how they organize instructional knowledge. Develops the concept of knowledge structures and illustrates…

Examines the cognitive approach to understanding teaching which places emphasis on how teachers are compelled by the thoughts they think while acting. States that such knowledge offers a vital but partial account of why teachers do what they do. States that further research must investigate how cultural and social understanding influence teaching…

Presents a model to account for the generalization of attributes from a sample to a population in the formation of stereotypes. Argues that stereotypes are heavily influenced by the attributes of those group members most strongly associated with the group label, and that stereotypes change only when disconfirming attributes are associated with…

Students with learning disabilities work to avoid difficult tasks while trying to appear competent ("passing"). They also check, monitor, and evaluate their actions, a form of "metacognition." These are flip sides of the same coin of strategic interaction and are context-bound, not context-free activities. (Author/LHW)