Conducted in Swaziland in 1984 and 1985, this research study explored children's logical thinking skills. One of the primary elements examined was the relationship between previous preschool experience and the child's ability to perform logical thinking tasks. The study consisted of six Piagetian tasks given to 400 children, preschool through…

The article describes a curriculum used in gifted programming which is based on Guilford's Structure of Intellect (SOI) theory of intelligence. Sourcebooks and individual SOI modules have been developed to train over 90 kinds of intellectual ability. Five categories of intellectual ability are defined (cognition, memory, evaluation, convergent…

This paper argues that the microcomputer has a place in early childhood education when it is coupled with microworld software. Microworld software formats are open-ended, user-designable, child-oriented software experiences providing children with direct access to specific concepts and the opportunity to exercise those concepts in meaningful ways.…

This paper provides an introduction to the Alberta Education Developmental Framework, and describes the provincial department's position on curriculum and the cognitive domain. Intended for use in designing and implementing instruction, the developmental framework delineates the developmental stages and processes through which students progress,…

Children appear to interpret the "equals" sign as an operator ("adds up to") not a relational ("the same as") symbol--e.g., viewing equations like 13 = 7 + 6 or 8 = 8 as senseless. This study, a natural experiment, examined the effects of long-term instruction emphasizing a relational definition of "equals."…

In order to capitalize on the learning experience which adults bring to the classroom, it is necessary to identify some of the components of the self-initiated learning cycle. A study of 12 adult graduate students' learning experiences in an adult learning class was used to identify a common pattern of experience. The pattern of the learning…

Recent research in psycholinguistics shows that experience with language in its communicative function is essential for learning to speak a second language. A suitable linguistic environment provides for the development of strategies for aural comprehension and for the acquisition of means of expression. A different approach to curriculum is…

Social cognition of adults, unlike children's social understanding, has rarely been addressed from a developmental viewpoint. To extend the developmental perspective to the study of adults' social cognitive skills in relation to other mental and social skills, 52 college students were compared in role taking performance and nonsocial cognitive…

The literature on children's acquisition of sex-typed knowledge, preference, and behavior is reviewed, and a matrix of sex-typing constructs and sex-typed content areas is offered. Two major themes are discussed. The first theme concerns the importance of activities, interests, and peer associations in the early acquisition of sex-typing…

The purpose of this paper is to: (1) explore some possible explanations for the lack of empirical support of advance organizers; (2) suggest a plan for improving the empirical research on advance organizers; and (3) recommend some further investigations needed in the area of advance organizers. Some explanations for this lack of support are…

This exploratory study was aimed at uncovering children's beliefs and ideas about the human circulatory system. Thirty-two subjects, aged 7 to 14 years, were interviewed using a modification of Piaget's clinical method. The data were analyzed by developing a conceptual inventory of beliefs for each of five research questions. It was found that the…

Relationships between an inquiry-oriented science inservice education program and teacher implementation of workshop-developed materials were investigated. Workshop topics included Piagetian learning theory, creating classrooms conducive to implementing inquiry-oriented science programs, use of the learning cycle, and matching learning activities…

This paper identifies several reasons for the gap between the possible instructional uses of computers and their actual use in classrooms and discusses considerations in planning programs which will bring computer education closer to its envisioned promise. The Assessing the Cognitive Consequences of Computer Environments for Learning (ACCCEL)…

Young children's responses to a velocity inference task based on static pictorial stimuli giving cues of proximity and ratio were examined. Subjects (N=65) in preschool through second grade viewed pictures of snails moving horizontally or spiders suspended vertically and were asked to estimate which competitor would reach its destination first.…

The pamphlet examines the kinds of play that are useful in developing the basis for later abstract thinking--specifically the development of mathematical concepts. The mathematical concepts included are numbers, conservation, one-to-one correspondence, counting and sequencing, ordering, sorting and classification, sorting and sets, and equivalence…