Two studies illustrating a methodology for describing similarities and distinctions between related constructs are reported. In Study 1, psychologists described behavioral and personality characteristics of preschool children through definitions of social competence and self-esteem using Q-set items. In Study 2, the relation between conceptual…

Discusses the historical development of the concept of geologic time. Develops the topic by using the major discoveries of geologists, beginning with Steno and following through to the discovery and use of radiometric dating. An extensive reference list is provided. (JM)

Explains the nature of concept maps and presents several procedures for using and evaluating them. Indicates that because the maps facilitate a sharing of meaning unhampered by any lack of verbal skills, teachers and students can judge with some degree of clarity how well a particular concept is understood. (JN)

Examines theories concerning the role of public education and proposes an attitudinal approach to teaching that recognizes the dynamic state of society, the need for a technologically aware citizenry, and the exponential growth in knowledge. Suggests a new teaching emphasis on how to think instead of what to think and applies this emphasis to…

Several experimental studies are reviewed, the results of which suggest that students often fail to acquire an understanding of some of the concepts, relationships, principles, and processes that are fundamental to traditional high school course material. Questions of what it means to understand something and of how to assess understanding are…

Discusses seven key concepts in Ausubel's learning theory which function to guide research and teaching. Also discusses concept mapping and Gowins Vee, providing examples of how they are used in chemistry instruction. (JN)

The development of the concept of protest is explained through use of questioning techniques and a continuum indicating the relationships between lawful protest, violent protest, a standard where "the line would be drawn," and majority and minority viewpoints. (AV)

The evidence from studies of component selection in paired-associate learning is reviewed and then considered in relation to Martin's (1968) hypothesis of encoding variability and Rudy's (1974) model of variations in the associative process. Component-selection tasks are also compared to verbal concept-formation tasks. (Editor)

Author examines results of creativity and aptitude tests for subjects from early childhood through graduate student level, and concludes that creative production is directly related to information supply (or "knowledge-at-hand"), and that it is the structuring of this information that implies potential for creativity. (RW)

The ability of preschool children to comprehend comparative sentences was studied in order to test previous findings and to test for a developmental shift. Subjects were 50 children aged 3 to 5 1/2 years. Data was analyzed in terms of functional versus relational responses as well as changes in relational responses. (MS)

Two transitional phases in the child's early language development are described; the first occurs between prelinguistic vocalization and one-word speech and the second between one-word and patterned speech. Cognitive, linguistic and affective inputs to the acquisition of reference and syntax are discussed in the light of the transitional…

This is a qualitative study of 22 9th graders performing generalizations on a task involving linear patterns. Our research questions were: What enables/hinders students' abilities to generalize a linear pattern? What strategies do successful students use to develop an explicit generalization? How do students make use of visual and numerical cues…

Teacher education is often viewed as too theoretical and not sufficiently concerned with the realities of classroom practice. From this perspective, theory and practice are cast as distinct realms whose only connection comes when theory influences practice. This paper argues that the theory-practice dichotomy lacks the richness of Vygotsky's…

This paper reports on a series of four studies carried out over a period of four years. These related studies were clinical and qualitative as they investigated middle and high school students' development of geometric thought, particularly as it related to three- dimensional visualization. The studies were carried out in the constructivist…

This paper presents a brief introduction to the nature and different types of mathematical visualization. Some of the influences that visualization has had on the development of mathematics and its teaching are examined, in particular exploring its current status. The paper inspects the particular role visualization may have in what concerns…