French-speaking children and adults heard silent comic-strip stories that differed by frame display mode, explicitness of the links between depicted events, and whether the topic changed on the last frame. Subjects' use of referents for the last frame indicated that manipulation of context was a good means of assessing speakers' acquisition of…

Compares the development of tense morphology and verb-second in different learner populations. Three groups of Swedish pre-school children are investigated longitudinally: first language speakers, second language speakers, and children diagnosed with specific language impairment.(Author/VWL)

Suggests that children construe the world as they develop relationships with other individuals. Offers considerations regarding developmental changes marking the first year of life and argues that cognition is framed in public social exchanges and private dialogical thinking. (DLH)

Attempts to develop a global discussion about the roles of dynamic geometry systems (DGS) by addressing four points: (1) the variety of possible contexts for proof in a DGS; (2) the dual nature of proof (cognitive and social) as reflected in the "milieu" constructed around the use of a DGS; (3) from observing to proving; and (4) overcoming the…

Five experiments explored a potentially more productive application of educational technology in which an individual learner has the opportunity to develop a social relation with a computer by interacting with an animated pedagogical agent. Results support the introduction of interactive pedagogical agents to promote meaningful learning in…

Explores how the concept of freedom in Paulo Freire's constructivist epistemology-constituted as agentive, spontaneity-based action-is in tension with his ethical project of a pedagogy for justice, one based on responsibility and non-indifference. Resolution of this tension means reconceptualizing the grounding notion of the subject beyond a…

Investigates the effects of individual versus cooperative learning on different aspects of 373 fifth-grade students' functioning: (1) cognitive; (2) affective; (3) metacognitive; and (4) social. Reports strong positive effects of cooperative learning on achievement and positive effects of cooperative learning in the cognitive level. (CMK)

The present study explores how suppositions which conflict with accepted beliefs are represented and reasoned about. Two studies test the predictions regarding the nature and developmental changes in children's ability to represent and reason about hypothetical or make-believe suppositions which violate their everyday knowledge and beliefs. In…

In the last of a three-part series, this study examined the information processing patterns of postsecondary American Indian/Alaska Native students attending community and tribal colleges in the Southwest. Using a survey design, students completed the Kolb Learning Style Inventory, the Briggs and Myers Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, and the Oltman,…

This study investigated the trajectories of preschool and first-grade childrens development of reading skills, as well as the cognitive and social antecedents of that development. One-hundred and ninety-six 5- to 6-year-old children were tested in October and April of their preschool year and again in the first grade. Data included measures of…

The majority of physical activity initiatives have been directed toward promoting cardiorespiratory fitness and general health. Far less attention has been devoted to encouraging or understanding muscular fitness-promoting behaviors. The purpose of this study was to determine if constructs from the Transtheoretical Model, a contemporary behavior…

Many children read mathematics word problems and directly translate them to arithmetic operations. More sophisticated problem solvers transform word problems into object-based or mental models. Subsequent solutions are often qualitatively different because these models differentially support cognitive processing. Based on a conception of problem…

This article considers the prevalence of what have been termed "training discourses" as dominant practices within a particular University of Technology, and discusses the implications of such discourses for teaching and learning. The rapid emergence of this training or skills discourse in Universities of Technology in South Africa, in…

In this article we explore the application of Cattell-Horn-Carroll (CHC)-based cognitive assessment to school psychology practice. We review the theoretical literature to address both identification practices, with a focus on learning disabilities and mental retardation eligibility, and program development, with a focus on linking assessment to…

In this study, the role of need for cognition, achievement motivation, and conscientiousness on academic underachievement was investigated. Forty-seven male and 46 female students in Grades 7 to 10 participated in the study. Student attributes were assessed by self-report measures, school performance by academic grades, and intellectual abilities…