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…

The purpose of the monograph was to determine if the process of science or the content of science should be emphasized in elementary school science teaching. The discussion attempts to show why process, and not content, should be the primary emphasis in elementary school science teaching by examining the history of elementary school science in the…

This book is intended to give teachers and student teachers a better understanding of the thinking of adolescent students in science lessons and to indicate the difficulties such students have in understanding the more abstract or formal ideas with which they are presented. It is practical in its orientation as the issues discussed are illustrated…

On the basis of studies reported elsewhere (SE 019 717 and 719) the author discusses the implications of research on cognitive development for teachers whose subjects involve an understanding of proportionality. Several common methods of teaching chemistry students to use proportionality in chemical problems are described. Research on the…

This book is a collection of articles which focus on various aspects of middle and junior high school science. The first section gives a philosophical background to teaching in the middle or junior high school, addressing questions about the special demands of teaching at this level. The second section provides background information on the…

"Critical Issues and Practices in Gifted Education: What the Research Says" is the definitive reference book for those searching for a summary and evaluation of the literature on giftedness and gifted education. The book presents almost 50 summaries of important topics in the field, providing relevant research and a guide to how the research…

Examining the question, "Why are children not mastering what they ought to be learning in school?," this book merges cognitive science with educational agenda to show how incompatible children's minds and natural patterns of learning are to current educational materials, practices, and institutions, making a case for restructuring the…

This book contains the proceedings of a seminar that investigated the impact of cognitive and social development on the teaching of science in secondary schools, and the possible ways in which the science curriculum could be a context in which adolescents' development could be positively influenced. Six plenary papers were presented: (1) "Research…

Noting that unilateral definitions of motor learning as separate from ideational learning are inadequate, this book identifies and explores certain branches of specific aspects of motor learning. The book is divided into three parts, dealing with curricular motor learning, compensatory motor learning, and cognitive motor learning. Part I is…

This book reviews the literature on effective science teaching, examining research from the United Kingdom and other countries. The studies included were those that made comparisons between two or more groups differing in science education experiences; those that involved upper elementary or lower secondary students; those that made comparisons in…

This 21-chapter methods textbook provides essential information, practical applications, and resource materials for prospective, beginning, and experienced science teachers, professional science educators, science coordinators, and science supervisors. Major topic areas addressed in the chapters include: the scientific enterprise and science…

Examining problems and questions related to full-day kindergarten, this book deals broadly with early childhood curriculum design and development. It suggests specific step-by-step ways to plan an emergent curriculum based upon integrated, dynamic themes that grow out of children's diverse personal and cultural experiences. Addressed to teachers,…