This study explores students' conceptual thinking by examining the extent and complexity of their concept identification and organization in geography. The study investigated students' conceptual thinking through identification of salient geography concepts and construction of individual concept maps at three academic achievement and grade levels.…

This study sought to understand the institutional behavior processes that occur when institutions are faced with anti-affirmative action litigation. A dual case study, conducted at the University of Maryland and at the University of Michigan, was designed to develop concepts linking litigation and institutional response. Using a grounded theory…

This report was written to extend the findings of the Roger Tory Peterson Institute's 1990 forum on early-childhood environmental education. The report begins with an overview of Peterson's own childhood experiences that influenced his career as a naturalist. Peterson developed a hands-on interest in nature as a very young boy. His case is not…

Ten major art concepts and methods are presented in this Pennsylvania state curriculum guideline. These concepts include how artists invent and develop vocabularies, tools, and systems in the artistic process; how individuals and groups develop unique means and forms of artistic expression affected by their own experiences and culture; and how…

This report discusses the progress in the development and clarification of the term "environmental literacy" (EL) and suggests ways in which the term may be used to advance the field of environmental education. Part I presents the evolution of EL beginning with a description of the concept as a goal of general education. Discussed in…

An examination of the development of the technical and technological disciplines in Germany over the last 500 years shows that these disciplines have recognized key developmental stages. They have evolved from the practical-oriented approaches, through knowledge-, process-, and methodology-oriented approaches, to the strategy-oriented approach.…

Given the current and widespread practical interest in mathematical understanding, particularly with respect to higher order thinking skills, curriculum reform advocates in many countries cite the need for teaching mathematics with understanding. However, the characterization of understanding in ways that highlight its growth, as well as the…

The purpose of this paper is to test three hypotheses about background knowledge that arise from the literature of cognitive psychology. The data base consists of the matrices of correlation coefficients that have been accumulated as part of an ongoing meta-analysis of factors influencing attitude and achievement in science. A search of the…

In order to investigate elementary school students' understanding of historical time, this study conducted open-ended interviews with 58 children in kindergarten through sixth grade. The students were asked to place nine illustrations from various periods of American history in chronological order and to talk about the reasoning behind the order…

Eighteen high school science students were involved in a study to determine what attributes in the problem statement they need when representing a typical osmosis problem. In order to realize this goal students were asked to solve problems aloud and to explain their answers. Included as a part of the results are the attributes that the students…

The effect of instructional analogy training on the level of immediate, as well as 14-day delay, comprehension of tangible and intangible physiological concepts was investigated. Ninety-four college-aged subjects were given training either with or without instructional analogies over five tangible and five intangible advanced physiological…

In this study, relationships were examined among three aspects of the implementation of complex instruction, an innovative approach to teaching in heterogeneous classrooms. These three aspects were: (1) teachers' use of the complex instruction strategies in the classroom; (2) systematic and comprehensive feedback received by teachers from the…

A learning cycle consists of three phases: exploration; conceptual invention; and expansion of an idea. These phases parallel Piaget's functioning model of assimilation, disequilibrium and accommodation, and organization respectively. The learning cycle perceives students as actors rather than reactors to the environment. Inherent in that…

Social science theorists such as Lewin, Campbell, and Wimsatt have established the basis for scientific community psychology and in particular mathematical psychology. Their tools of triangulation and robustness analysis have furthered the methodology by defining the logical effects of mathematical concepts in a theoretical system. Mathematical…

Abstracts and/or complete papers presented at this conference are provided in seven sections. Section 1 includes papers focusing on microcomputers and education. Section 2 includes a research review on spatial ability and its relation to mathematics education and two studies, focusing on spatial ability tasks for mathematics teachers/students and…