A fundamental problem in language acquisition is determining how children learn the formal vocabulary of the adult grammar. A proposed solution is the Semantic Bootstrapping Hypothesis (SBH), which states that children infer the identity of syntactic entities such as "subject" in input based on the presence of semantic entities such as…

This paper reports the results of a phenomenographic study which focused on identifying and describing the conceptions of programming and related phenomena of about 120 computer science and computer engineering students learning to program. The report begins by tracing developments in the students' conceptions of programming and its parts, and…

Major collections of research contributions on the fundamental nature of children's television viewing have been compiled in this book. Each chapter presents the assumptions, methodologies, theories, and major research findings of a particular research program or tradition. Chapters 1 through 4 are directed toward the examination of children's…

The first of a three-part investigation, this study examined the impact of experiences with adults in nontraditional occupations on elementary school children's sex stereotyped beliefs. Objectives were to determine what career-related sex stereotypes today's children have; whether these stereotypes can be changed through a program of exposure to…

Describes a four-phase method of helping students who are mathematically unsophisticated and have difficulty relating their common sense, English-language understanding of a system to an abstract, mathematical description. The approach uses interactive simulation models. (Author/IRT)

This study examined the Piagetian developmental stages and order of the conservation concepts (area and distance) and the concept of horizontality in the coordinate reference systems. Subjects were 240 children, 60 randomly selected from each of grades one, three, five, seven, in three primary schools located in rural, suburban, and open terrain…

Investigated the general relationship between children's performance on social and physical measures of cognitive functioning, possible sex differences in performance on the two types of tasks, and the relationship between boys' and girls' performances on these tasks and age and IQ. (SDH)

The application of research outcomes aligned to a single paradigm can result in the design of polarized classroom pedagogies. In contrast, the application of multi-paradigmatic perspectives can result in the design of effective literacy and thinking tools. The research outcomes from cognitive and neuro-psychologists adopting normative…

This book is a methods book to help teachers guide children to develop ideas and relationships about mathematics. The methods and activities are designed to get children mentally involved in the construction of those ideas and relationships. Chapter 1 discusses what it means to teach mathematics and suggests some of the important variables shaping…

This paper describes Topdown Conceptual Analysis (TCA) and how it can be used to produce the knowledge base for the development of courseware. Some of the prerequisites and basic theories behind TCA are explained. In discussing what is meant by learning and teaching a concept, an explanation is given of how a complex concept can be taught in terms…

An extensive bibliography on teaching thinking skills is presented. This bibliography incorporates from an earlier one (1989) the available relevant references in the field of cognitive education as well as new references that have appeared since early 1989. This field of cognitive education is expanding at such a rapid rate that no bibliography…

Outcomes, processes, and emerging questions associated with using matrix structures as both a teaching strategy used by the instructor and a cognitive learning strategy used by cooperative groups of students were studied. In analyzing these concept learning strategies, an effort was made to triangulate sources of data and take into account aspects…

Suggested in this paper are priorities for the role of cognitive psychology in science/mathematics curriculum development and teacher education. Areas discussed include: (1) science education as a national concern; (2) how rapid advances in science knowledge and cognitive psychological knowledge have created a sense of urgency about developing a…

A study identified, explicated, and refined systematically components central to the professional competence of home economics educators. First, components that are central to the professional development of home economists were identified and proposed . Second, through the processes of conceptual analysis and dialectic interpretation, each…