Recent research points to the inborn abilities of infants and shows how early experiences influence cognitive skills. This book presents activities for parents and their infants--building on activities babies instinctively love--to develop their unique abilities. The book is organized around six intellectual skills: (1) problem solving; (2)…

Based on the view that young children have a different intellectual culture from adults' in the way they know and understand nature, this paper explores ecological human brain development, children's intellectual culture of naturalist intelligence, and developmentally and culturally congruent curricula for young children. The paper discusses the…

The second-year implementation of Graduation 2010, a districtwide public-school initiative, had its beginnings in brain-based research and involvement from both school and community. The original plan for the program had eight strands: (1) Arts; (2) Music; (3) Foreign Language; (4) Reading/Language Development; (5) Thinking Skills; (6)…

Drawing upon the burgeoning research in neurology, as well as stories of real children, this book charts the brain's development, from conception through the critical first 5 years of life. In examining the many factors that play crucial roles in that process, the book explores the evolution of the senses, motor skills, social and emotional…

The central objective of this study was to draw interdependent relationships between preschoolers' social functioning and their modes of social thought. Assessment of 67 four-year-olds was done through systematic observations of social behavior, including social participation, type of play, and affective involvement in the preschool setting, as…

Noting that an examination of play from diverse perspectives deepens understanding and opens up new avenues for research and educational practice, this book brings together studies, research syntheses, and critical commentaries that examine play-literacy relationships from cognitive, ecological, and cultural perspectives. Each set of chapters is…

Research that bears on the issue of school entry policies is summarized in this report. The focus is on the age children should be to enter kindergarten and the potential benefits of delaying school entry for all or some children. The research reviewed uses three methodologies: (1) comparing outcomes for children who have delayed entry by a year…

Reviews impact of Canadian French immersion research on theoretical conceptions of bilingualism and biliteracy and identifies four major issues: effects of bilingualism on children's cognitive and academic development; effects of intensity of school exposure to the second language; the "optimal age" issue; and the suitability of a…

Various instructional models for use in classrooms with both mildly handicapped and nonhandicapped students are described: (1) developmental model; (2) inquiry and inductive reasoning models; (3) behavioral model; (4) perceptual motor theory; (5) diagnostic-prescriptive models; and (6) individual education plan. (CJ)

Examined relationship between cognitive requirements of two chapters of a physics textbook for biology/pre-med students and their ability to use prerequisite reasoning skills required for its understanding. An average of 42 percent of students tested did not consistently use reasoning skills required to understand text concepts. Discusses tests…

The object of this study was to specify the relationship between logical and numerical structures by examining the processes used by operational and preoperational children in solving simple addition and subtraction problems. (MP)

Level of operational thinking required (cognitive demand) for concepts or problems and test items on the mole concept was determined and compared to the Piagetian levels of thinking of 71 students. Pupil cognitive level was positively associated with overall unit test scores and with percent success on all test items. (Author/SK)

The research literature on children's production of elaborations in associative learning tasks is reviewed, especially with respect to the questions of when children can produce elaborations under instruction, when they transfer elaborative strategy usage from one situation to another, and when they produce elaborative strategies spontaneously.…

Using a Native American parable, compares the Standard Average European (SAE) world view with the Standard Native American (SNA) world view and the effects they have on education. Points out possible areas of interethnic confusion as a result of these two world views in communication dealing with cognitive schemes. (LC)

The potential utility of a college admissions test as a measure of the cognitive learning outcomes of general education is investigated. A residual form of the ACT Assessment was administered to a stratified random sample of 112 seniors at Tennessee Technological University. (Author/MLW)