This paper was presented at the summer 1969 advanced seminar on Aesthetics in Education held at the Boston University School of Education. (EJS)

The author describes an approach to planning that differs from conventional concepts. This approach, called interactive or proactive planning, deals with interdependent problems and pursues goals, objectives, and ideals. Emphasizing that ideals play the key role in interactive planning, Ackoff contrasts this approach with prevailing planning…

The search for a definition of literacy is discussed under three headings: Literacy defined by its opposite, literacy defined by its properties, and components of the abstract concept. (TA)

Article discusses inconsistencies of the pragmatist claim that there is no objective value structure, but that all value concepts can be reduced to functional concepts. (RW)

Inspired by the studies of pioneer Raymond, aims to redraw and make obvious the different hypotheses explaining missed devolvement. Supports research on the notions of concept and object in mathematics. (KHR)

Ninety-eight concepts from the Bracken Basic Concept Scale were paired, polarity (positive or negative) was assigned, and concept pairs were contrasted with 1,109 children ages three through seven to determine rate and sequence of polar concept acquisition. For 70 percent of the pairs the positive-pole concept was acquired before the negative-pole…

In this article, the authors describe a series of activities they have used with middle-level students. The first set of lessons explores density through the layering of liquids. In the second set, they use some of the same liquids to explore the density of solids. The third set investigates how temperature affects the density of…

In their lead articles, both Kowalski and Zimiles (2006) and O'Hanlon and Roberson (2006) declare a general relation between color term knowledge and the ability to conceptually represent color. Kowalski and Zimiles, in particular, argue for a priority for the conceptual representation in color term acquisition. The complexities of the interaction…

This study investigates a Listening and Dialogue training workshop in a manufacturing company. Instructors presented dialogue as a way of communicating that enables groups to think together, which is consistent with Bohm's epistemological approach. However, organizational members described profound meaningful experiences of connection, otherness,…

A feature is central to a concept to the extent that other features depend on it. Four studies tested the hypothesis that people will project a feature from a base concept to a target concept to the extent that they believe the feature is central to the two concepts. This centrality hypothesis implies that feature projection is guided by a…

Defines two competitive ideas--competence and capability--and argues that neither deals adequately with the central issue of the present. Provides a model, to place these ideas in conceptual space--the vertical axis of which is bounded by the extremes of narrow and broad focus, and the horizontal axis by the past and the future. Suggests that…

One aspect of autistic language that has been infrequently researched is vocabulary and the conceptual knowledge underpinning individual words or word types. In this descriptive study we investigate anomalous vocabulary use in a 70,000-word corpus of conversational autistic language and examine evidence that concept formation, and hence…

Interactive engagement pedagogies that emerge from a constructivist model of teaching and learning are often a challenge to implement in larger classes for a number of reasons including the physical layout of the classroom (e.g. fixed chairs in an amphitheater-style room), the logistics of organizing a large number of students into small…

This study was designed to evaluate the effects of the proprietary science education software, "Conversionoes," on students' conceptual and visual understanding of dimensional analysis. The participants in the study were high school general chemistry students enrolled in two public high schools with different demographics (School A and…