This study compared instructional methods using interactive video in order to test the prototype model of concept acquisition and to assess the kinds of prototypes that learners develop. The subjects were 30 graduate students at two universities, who were randomly assigned to one of three treatment groups and completed an interactive video program…

A discussion is presented on the development and implementation of two inservice training programs for science teachers which were based on a "constructivist perspective" which is based on the belief that knowledge (in an individual) is always a personal construction. Within this framework, the programs involved the development of both…

This paper begins with a description of the context and background of cognitive research into knowledge acquisition and representation for computer based training. The nature of concept maps is alluded to and examples are given of the ways that maps can facilitate knowledge elicitation. It is noted that: (1) the concept knowledge in this research…

This paper examines research studies that have concluded that elementary school children can learn more difficult and abstract social studies concepts than are taught in the traditional social studies curriculum. Research studies that focus on constraints on cognition, the use of embedded concepts, and understanding knowledge restructuring and…

Considered is a conceptual analog of buggy algorithms and rule-based mathematical development. The investigations consider whether children's efforts to make conceptual sense of new mathematics instruction in terms of their available knowledge may sometimes lead them to make systematic errors. In particular, the possibility is explored that…

This paper analyzes the misconceptions high school students have about force and suggests that the misunderstanding of Newton's third law is the key to these misconceptions. Clinical interview and diagnostic test data (N=104) indicates that many students have a naive view of force as an acquired or innate property of single objects rather than…

In assessing the concept of sex-role typing of adult activities, this study required subjects to add male or female adult figures to 12 pictures illustrating different activities. Randomly chosen, participants included ten 4-year-olds enrolled in a female teacher's class and twenty 6-year-olds (10 from a male teacher's and 10 from a female…

The nature of novice programmers' mental models for BASIC statements following preliminary BASIC instruction was assessed with 30 undergraduates who were taught BASIC through a self-paced, mastery manual and who were simultaneously given hands-on access to an Apple II microcomputer. Following instruction, the students were tested to determine…

A practicum program using art activities to help eight Hispanic immigrant kindergarten children learn English was developed and implemented over a period of 10 weeks. Rather than relying on one learning mode, program designers used activities to stimulate visual, auditory, kinesthetic, and tactile senses in order to teach color, relative length,…

This book presents activities designed to promote students' understanding of important mathematical ideas as well as to provide learning experiences intended to let students practice and refine their skills. Chapter topics include: (1) understanding and using numbers; (2) computation; (3) problem solving; (4) calculators; (5) fractions and…

Results of empirical research relating computer programming instruction and understanding of the concept of mathematical variables is unclear. While some studies have found a positive relationship, others have reported nonsignificant results. The purpose of this study was to investigate high school students' (n=36) understanding of the concept of…

Helping children and youth learn through school experiences to deal constructively with questions of peace, war, and ways to promote peace preparedness is the purpose of this four-year peace education project. The principal goals of the project include: (1) an inventory and analysis of experiences and related peace education projects in various…

Freedom is subject to a variety of conceptions in life because people think of it from where they are in life. Psychological literature contains a great deal about freedom but it is almost always found under the rubric of freedom versus determinism. This study examined the concepts of freedom in subjects (N=450) who ranged in age from 7 to 21…

Concept mapping, a technique of graphically representing concepts and their relationship, was used to assess changes in the structural knowledge of prospective teachers at three levels of a teacher education program. The concept "teacher planning" was mapped at the beginning and end of the semester by 49 students in introductory, intermediate, and…

This paper examines work in eliciting conceptions of light and vision that are held by naive learners and about some promising instructional strategies that emerge from this work. Naive learners are defined as subjects that have not had formal exposure to the physics of light, particularly elementary school children who were interviewed in the…