This open access volume explores the transformative role of Research Cognitive Theory (RCT) in education, emphasizing its application in fostering curiosity, creativity, innovation, problem-solving skills, and cognitive development across all educational levels in students and professional development in teachers. Through detailed discussions on…

This semiotically informed article problematizes the concept of literacy as an aesthetic activity rather than reading skills and offers strategies for assessing young readers' understanding of fictional texts. Although not based on empirical research, the essay refers to and theorizes from extensive field studies of children's responses to…

We show that the neurological condition of synaesthesia--which causes fundamental differences in perception and cognition throughout a lifetime--is significantly represented within the childhood population, and that it manifests behavioural markers as young as age 6 years. Synaesthesia gives rise to a merging of cognitive and/or sensory functions…

This investigation of the development of young children's concept of evaporation examines their intuitive explanations of real world events involving evaporation. A study of the effects of providing evidence contradicting their explanations and of directing their attention to relevant situational features provides insight into the development of…

Despite considerable work concerning relationships between cognition and language in the second year of life, these relationships remain obscure. Clarification depends on resolution in at least three major areas. First, studies should be expanded beyond the scope of cognitive prerequisite models that have been difficult to conceptualize and that…

Study One examined Swedish and American children's understanding of what constitutes fair criteria for the distribution of goods (i.e., distributive justice). Study Two compared children's distributive justice in family and peer contexts, and Study Three attempted a longitudinal assessment of distributive justice reasoning in two different…

Explores the implications of schema theory and research from cognitive psychology for improving social studies education. Identifies some specific techniques for improving instruction. Suggests conceptualizing differences between children of different ages according to their cognitive processes and structures. Describes some anticipated…

Investigated 314 young children who had neonatal hyperbilirubinaemia. Results indicated that these children managed less well in neurological and psychological tests, had poorer school marks, and more often attended special classes than did members of the control group. (RJC)

Describes outcomes of research into the ability to process and evaluate information about musical rhythm and pitch. Reports that the Pitch Rhythm Integration Measure (PRIM) is reliable and statistically the same across age groups. Concludes that there is a significant age-related increase in the importance of rhythm for novices' perceptual…

Addresses the question of whether the social studies should be abandoned. Discusses Kieran Egan's analysis of the importance of storytelling and Egan's proposal to abandon the social studies curriculum in favor of a pedagogy more consistent with the way children think. Critiques Egan's view and examines implications for educators. (SG)

Reports on a study where 111 primary age children were asked to map four model landscapes of increasing complexity. The results show an age-related progression from representing hills in elevation only to early experiments with the use of contours. Includes maps, graphs, and statistical data. (MJP)

Study of children's retention of training in class inclusion reasoning skills. Sixty-four kindergarten-age children who showed no evidence of class inclusion skills were assigned to one of three groups: training, training with corrective feedback, and control. Posttests were administered immediately after training and 3 months later. (Author/BN)

Cognitive learning related to the environment has typically been subsumed as a part of instruction in the more traditional areas of the secondary school curriculum, in particular in science and/or social studies classes. This digest contains a review of a number of studies dealing with cognitive learning in the environment, investigating the…

The study examined two female children (ages two and five) with Williams Syndrome (characterized by moderate to severe mental retardation with verbal intelligence quotients significantly higher than performance intelligence quotients). Comparison with both normal and delayed children indicated an unusual cognitive profile. (DB)

An analysis using data drawn from Nancy Bayley's Berkeley Growth Study is performed for didactic purposes to illustrate the use of structural equation modeling on a child development data set. Alternatives to standard latent factor approaches are demonstrated for use in research situations in which the subject-to-variable ratio is less than…