Discusses Component Display Theory (CDT) as a method of instructional design, and describes a reorganization of CDT meant to increase its utility in the instructional design process. Matrices in the CDT are explained, and a synthesized matrix based on content and performance elements is provided. (six references) (LRW)

Three experiments involving 80 infants provide evidence that infants at 2.5 and 4 months represent objects and surfaces that they no longer perceive and that they operate on their representations to derive information about an event they have never perceived. Experiments suggest that cognition develops concurrently with perception and action. (SLD)

Reacts to Fischer et al's article concerning reconceptualizing multicultural counseling. Agrees that psychotherapy is best understood as a function of the culture which sustains it. Discusses the implications for research brought forward by the article's view that psychotherapy is a branch of rhetoric, particularly the art of persuasion. (MKA)

Outlines an account of conceptual learning in terms of the conceptions that people hold, the status they award to their conceptions, and the conceptual ecology containing the criteria they use in determining status. (Author/CCM)

Error estimates for tangent line approximations and for numerical integration are found using special cases of the error formulas for Taylor's Theorem and the Trapezoidal Rule, respectively. Proofs of these theorems rely on a modification of Rolle's Theorem. (Author/MKR)

Used the Bracken Basic Concept Scale to examine whether concepts are related to each other on the conceptual development of 40 six-year-olds. Found significant correlations between the SRC concepts (color, letter, number/counting, comparison, shape) and direction as well as social/emotional concepts and the size concepts. Found that direction…

Explores the relationship between the descriptive categories and structural characteristics of students' conceptions so that a theoretical framework may be developed to explain and predict students' alternative conceptions in science. The descriptive categories were developed through a process of coding, grouping, and labeling; the structural…

Examines how babies exposed to two languages simultaneously acquire the meanings of words across their two languages. Particular focus was on whether babies know that they are acquiring different lexicons right from the start or whether early bilingual exposure causes them to be semantically confused. (Author/VWL)

Individuals can infer what others are likely to know by clustering knowledge according to common goals, common topics, or common underlying principles. Although young children are sensitive to underlying principles, that manner of clustering might not prevail when other viable means are presented. Two studies examined how a sample of 256 children…

A label can convey nonobvious information about category membership. Three studies show that preschoolers (N144) sometimes ignore or reject labels that conflict with appearance, particularly when they are uncertain that the speaker meant to use those labels. In Study 1, 4-year-olds were more reluctant than 3-year-olds to accept that, for example,…

The aim of this study was to develop a model of students' energy concept development. Applying Case's (1985, 1992) structural theory of cognitive development, we hypothesized that students' concept of energy undergoes a series of transitions, corresponding to systematic increases in working memory capacity. The US national sample from the Third…

Framing effects are said to occur when equivalent frames lead to different choices. However, the equivalence in question has been incompletely conceptualized. In a new normative analysis of framing effects, we complete the conceptualization by introducing the notion of information equivalence. Information equivalence obtains when no…

In 3 studies, young children were tested for their understanding of pretend actions. In Studies 1 and 2, pairs of superficially similar behaviors were presented to 26- and 36-month-old children in an imitation game. In one case the behavior was marked as trying (signs of effort), and in the other case as pretending (signs of playfulness).…

We introduce resource graphs, a representation of linked ideas used when reasoning about specific contexts in physics. Our model is consistent with previous descriptions of coordination classes and resources. It represents mesoscopic scales that are neither knowledge-in-pieces nor large-scale concepts. We use resource graphs to describe several…

The newly updated "Content-Based Curriculum for High-Ability Learners" provides a solid introduction to curriculum development in gifted and talented education. Written by experts in the field of gifted education, this text uses cutting-edge design techniques and aligns the core content with national and state standards. In addition to a revision…