In the 1920s and 1930s, interpretations of reading readiness held that learning to read occurred at a specific point in cognitive development. Postponement of reading instruction until a child reached this stage of maturity was widely accepted at that time, and throughout the 1940s and 1950s. The 1960s marked a transition period in terms of…

The six major sections of this notebook focus on developing the abilities of preschool and kindergarten children in the areas of large and fine motor, social, auditory, visual, language, and mathematics skills. Each section contains several activities parents can do at home in brief and enjoyable practice periods to assist children's development.…

Reviews theoretical frameworks and psychological processes underlying the perception and cognition of musical understanding. Suggests unifying ideas and processes based on a developmental learning framework applied to teaching methods and curriculum. Supplies six guidelines for music education practitioners who are sequencing learning activities…

Analyzes the research strategies, stimuli, subjects, statistical strategies, and relative variables in 34 empirical studies on children's representation of three-dimensional objects. The studies fell into three categories: children's representation of spatial relationships within an object, between two objects, and studies that included both. (MJP)

Reviews the development of spatial organization in children with blindness. Discusses the importance of motor exploration, tactual development, and spatial representation as critical factors in developing spatial and cognitive organizations of their surroundings. Suggests seven specific activities to improve spatial organization in blind children.…

The article suggests that Belcastro rods, which retain the basic properties of Cuisenaire rods but allow instant identification by touch, may be useful in teaching mathematical concepts to blind children. Drawings illustrate use of the rods in teaching such concepts as addition and subtraction. (Author/DB)

The Child Development Program at John Adams School in North Brunswick, New Jersey, was designed to be an immediate intervention for children with learning problems in the early elementary grades. This two-volume guide describes the work done in the program and how the program can be replicated. The first book details characteristics of the…

Cortical blindness is defined and its diagnosis is explained. Guidelines and sample activities are presented for use in a cognitive/visual/multi-sensory stimulation program to produce progress in cortically blind infants. The importance of using the eyes from birth through early development in order to form the nerve pathways responsible for…

Identifies the principle types of cognitive and affective influences which contribute to the development of an individual's conceptual framework. Explains how external influences affect a child's interpretation of the environment. Urges that multidimensional experiences be offered to children and that students' perceptual levels, personal…

The goals and strategies formulated by 30 learning disabled (LD) and 30 non-learning disabled (NLD) males at two age levels (8 to 9 and 11 to 12 years) were analyzed. Subjects were interviewed regarding their strategies and goals in four situations involving peer interactions. They were also videotaped during a role play assessment of social…

Addresses implications drawn from contemporary research in cognitive psychology which deal with the impact of nonconscious mental structures and processes on an individual's experience, thought, and action. Discusses the information-processing perspective, automatic processes, subliminal perception, implicit memory, hypnotic alterations, and the…

Presents a lesson plan that uses a constructivist approach for developing and challenging students' different thinking strengths. In the context of musical and bodily-kinesthetic thinking, elementary school students interpret the sounds and movements the dinosaurs made as they negotiated their primitive environments. (CR)

This digest describes a selection of environmental education research studies that were included in the ERIC system in 1985. It is noted that much of the reported research in environmental education continues to deal with the affective domain, but that there are stronger efforts toward relating affective components with knowledge gain,…

Various counting tasks were presented to 24 congenitally, totally blind children, aged 3-13, to determine the behaviors employed to ensure accurate counting. Three dimensions of tactile strategies were found, including "scanning,""organizing," and "partitioning." A developmental progression in the ontogenesis of each…

Describes a lesson in which instruction is initiated through the right cerebral hemisphere by using visualizations as concrete aids to learning. Explanations include a hand model which is used to illustrate the dynamics of guard cell activity of stomates and a paper folding model to show increase in surface area. (RT)