Describes recent turn in media research to functionalist perspective and brings into focus insights into learning mechanisms that might provide benefits to educational technology researchers. Learning factors that media could facilitate are discussed: self-regulation, conflict resolution and reflexive abstraction; coordination of correspondences…

Investigates whether children's use of reasoning differs in child-child and adult-child discussions of moral dilemmas. Supports Piaget's contention that moral discussions with peers feature a more spontaneous use of reasoning than do discussions with adults. (HOD)

This study sought to validate two measures of social cognitive development: a measure of conflict resolution (Shantz and Shantz, 1982), and a social rule measure (Shantz, 1982). Participants were 214 kindergarten through fourth grade children from two suburban schools, one a public school and the other a Catholic parochial school in the Chicago…

A conceptual model is presented for the development of thinking skills by using an instructional model employing high level cognitive demands. "Distancing" is proposed as the concept to denote behaviors or events that separate the child cognitively from the immediate behavioral environment. Forms and functions of distancing behavior are…