Contends that history is a valuable part of the elementary curriculum because it provides skills and concepts that connect and enhance other school subjects. Concludes that history, if well taught, enhances children's natural creativity and prepares for thoughtful, contributing citizenship. (CFR)

A study asked 24 first grade children from 3 different classes to write number sentences and select appropriate alternative number sentences for addition and subtraction word problems. Results indicated that children could be characterized into five clusters according to their flexibility in accepting alternative number sentences and that…

This study found that teachers' ratings of their 8 severely mentally handicapped pupils' (ages 9-18) classroom behavior were correlated with children's performance on a discrimination learning task. The factors of attention/distractibility and responsivity to consequences correlated significantly with number of errors and number of trials to…

This study of visual and auditory problems in 17 children (ages 7-10) with dyslexia concluded that, although eye tracking and binocular fusion problems should always be considered in the assessment of dyslexics, factors involved in information processing in auditory and visual perception appear to be more highly implicated. (Author/JDD)

Attempts to integrate recent models of social systems based on age and cognitive personality research with research on adolescence. Presents a conceptual model of how adolescents set personal goals, construct cognitive strategies, and evaluate their success in an age-graded sociocultural context. Discusses future directions for research based on…

Proposes helping students understand fractions by establishing connections between students' informal knowledge of fractions and the mathematical symbols used to represent fractions. Sample dialogues demonstrate how these connections can be made. (MDH)

Describes the current state of knowledge about human decision-making and problem-solving processes, explaining recent developments and their implications for management and management training. Rational goal-setting is the key to effective decision making and accomplishment. Bounded rationality is a realistic orientation, because the world is too…

Research of cognitive scientists is resulting in new learning theories through which students can move from novice to expert. How cognitive scientists work and how their results are applied are discussed. Reciprocal teaching, as implemented in the Springfield (Illinois) schools, provides an example of a successful research-based technique. (SLD)

This research review finds that children with leukemia exhibit deficits in cognitive and neuropsychological functioning following either central nervous system irradiation or intrathecal chemotherapy. Implications of increased life expectancies for school reentry and the need for special education services are addressed. (DB)

Children and adults were tested on six speeded perceptual-motor and cognitive tasks, including a (1) response time task; (2) button tapping task; (3) pegboard task; (4) coding task; (5) picture matching task; and (6) mental addition task. Age-related change in processing time on most of these tasks was described by a single exponential function.…

School students' conceptual frameworks in astronomy and students' levels of knowledge and conceptualization were examined for 130 students in grades 2 through 12. Knowledge and conceptualization increased with school age. A test administered to 892 students in 7 schools demonstrated that schools contributed little to education in astronomy. (SLD)

Investigates the effect of stimulation of fantasy play on the level of symbolic play, language, and cognitive ability of four-year olds in Guyanan nursery schools. Concludes that provision of opportunities for fantasy play can have positive effects on symbolic play and language. (Author/BB)

Children as young as five years of age responded faster in a categorical task when information was initially presented to the left hemisphere, and faster in a coordinate task when information was initially presented to the right hemisphere. This finding provided evidence for the existence of distinct subsystems that compute categorial and…

Fifty-six field-dependent and 55 field-independent students in grades 6 through 8 were assessed on reading comprehension tasks varying in memory load and cognitive restructuring requirements. Field-independent readers outperformed field-dependent readers on tasks with high memory demands and requirements for efficient restructuring. (SLD)

Children (n=86, ages 6-8) who were receiving special help in reading were tested and followed up after 2 years. When the variance resulting from intelligence quotient and age was accounted for, orthographic processing, phonological awareness, and digit-naming speed were the only early cognitive processing tasks that made significant contributions…