Reviews studies of cognitive development of high school students in small rural schools. Finds that while research clearly shows that students in small rural schools may not be as intellectually developed as students in large schools, little research has been done to identify possible causes for this difference. (BRR)

A social studies concept assessment instrument was developed and used to assess the concept development level of 24 kindergarten and 28 first grade subjects on n social concepts. Significant differences were found in scores for kindergarten and first grade; no significant differences were found in scores for race or sex. (Author/RM)

This study aimed to assess cognitive and behavior correlates of young children's interest in computers. Computer users tended to be older and exhibited significantly higher levels of cognitive maturity than nonusers. Other findings are discussed. Results suggest there are important cognitive underpinnings for computer involvement by preschoolers.…

Discusses how teachers can help students make the transition from using manipulative materials to abstract mathematical symbols. Includes: (1) a definition of the transition state; (2) ways to bridge the gap (by asking questions and by using activities); and (3) a specific example (teaching place value). (JN)

Effects of object training and photograph training on comprehension of category labels by 10 severely mentally retarded children and adolescents were explored. Results indicated that acquisition and transfer did not differ, yet generalization was significantly more accurate with objects than with photographs. Futhermore, generalization was…

Cognitive activity of children from 1.5 to 5 years of age participating in problem solving and in spontaneous play was analyzed in terms of the successive coordination of existing patterns and the incorporation of new mental components. Analysis identified a series of developmental levels. (Author/RH)

Discusses advantages and disadvantages of standard high school biology and chemistry course sequences. Relates these sequences to Piagetian developmental levels as well as to David Ausubel's cognitive theory. Suggests that the sequences be reexamined in light of issues considered. (JM)

On the basis of a study involving 40 first-grade students, compares Pascual-Leone's and Keating and Bobbitt's developmental theories of information processing by contrasting their predictions about a classification task. Results falsified Keating and Bobbitt's model. Predictions from Pascual-Leone's theory were almost wholly confirmed. (RH)

This study distinguished between forms of self-consciousness (private self-consciousness and social anxiety) and investigated the effect of self-esteem, vulnerability to criticism, and the tendency to fantasize on each. A structural equation analysis used unobserved variables from a sample (n=1098) of adolescents, ages 12 to 19. (Author/BS)

By enhancing the cognitive abilities of teachers, supervision can help them make better instructional decisions in planning (the preactive stage), teaching (the interactive stage), analyzing and evaluating (the reflective stage), and applying (the projective stage). Seven charts and a 33-item reference list are provided. (DCS)

Focuses on environmental influences on variations in infants' exploratory behavior, the stability of these differences, and the relation between differences in exploratory play and later cognitive development. (AS)

Assesses the hazards of models of cognitive development and the positivist views of language that support them. Considers how alternative views of language and learning can help develop a method of teaching that views reading and writing as interpretation and the making of meaning. (RBW)

The failure of compensatory education programs to demonstrate permanent increases in intelligence with early intervention has constituted a basic challenge to the validity of the early experience paradigm. A reconceptualization of the effects of early experience, emphasizing the cumulative and dialectical nature of development, is needed. (KH)

Educators can improve children's thinking skills through the following five steps: (1) identifying and defining the desirable thinking skills, (2) identifying the components of these skills, (3) providing systematic skills instruction, (4) integrating the teaching of thinking skills with various content areas, and (5) improving skills testing.…

Determined that males (N=70) demonstrate higher level of intellectual development than females (N=70), that males mature intellectually earlier than females, and that there appear to be factors other than age and sex that are related to development of formal operational reasoning. Implications of these and other results are discussed. (JN)