The impulse to investigate the natural world is deeply rooted in our earliest childhood experiences. This notion has long guided researchers to uncover the cognitive mechanisms underlying the development of scientific reasoning in children. Until recently, however, research in cognitive development and education followed largely independent…

An expansion of three lectures on schema theory given at the University of Alberta as part of the MacEachran Memorial Lecture Series, this book is intended for students and researchers interested in the schemata that organize knowledge of stories, events, and scenes, and to serve as an introduction to the elements of schema theory and the…

This book brings a philosophical perspective to the topic of children's thinking. It attempts to answer the questions of what it is to think and understand, and how children do so. The book provides an introduction to the philosophy of education as it relates to children's understanding, and is careful not to assume any previous philosophical…

This book explores what makes mathematics possible as well as what makes mathematics difficult. Included is a discussion of the definition of mathematics, mathematics in language, the meaning of numbers, calculating and measuring, notation, numbers in space, and the best ways to learn mathematics. Historical information and practical examples are…

This book articulates and defends the "theory theory" of cognitive and semantic development: the idea that very young children just beginning to talk are engaged in profound restructurings of several domains of their knowledge. These restructurings are analogous to theory changes. The children's early semantic development is closely tied…