Considers how preceding articles by Jansen and van der Maas, and Halford et al., contribute to understanding of how rule use can be best assessed, how systematic rule use can be reconciled with variable rule use, when children begin to use rules, and how children generate new rules. Summarizes current understanding of development of knowledge…

The field of children's learning was thriving when the Merrill-Palmer Quarterly was launched; the field later went into eclipse and now is in the midst of a resurgence. This commentary examines reasons for these trends, and describes the emerging field of children's learning. In particular, the new field is seen as differing from the old in its…

Discusses metacognitive and associative models of children's strategy discovery and use. Contends that models based on only one type of mechanism cannot entirely account for observed variability and constraint revealed by microgenetic studies of children's strategy change. Proposes a new model of children's strategy development in which…

This study tested three hypothesized mechanisms through which explanations might facilitate problem-solving strategy generalization in kindergarteners through second graders. Results suggested that explanations facilitated generalization through the creation of novel goal structures that enabled children to persist in use of the new strategy…

Maintains that recent theoretical and methodological advances have sparked renewed interest in studying children's learning. Describes consistent and interesting findings regarding how children learn and intriguing proposals regarding mechanisms underlying learning. Argues that increasing the focus on children's learning promises practical…

In a study of children's use of encoding and strategy knowledge in domains in which problem-specific experience is lacking, children were tested for serial recall. Seven- and nine-year olds encoded contiguity relations, and encoding was related to strategy choices. Less consistent encoding of five-year olds did not influence strategy choices. (BC)

Analyzed 1.5- and 2.5-year-olds' problem solving and learning. Found that changes in toddlers' strategies could be assessed reliably on a trial-by-trial basis, that changes followed the basic form predicted by the overlapping waves model, and that analyses could reveal information about the qualitative and quantitative aspects of their learning.…