Abstracts and abstractors' critiques are presented for six studies dealing with concept formation and misconceptions and for five studies dealing with cognitive development. The first six studies investigated: children's naive conceptions of the human body; students' understanding (or misunderstanding) of states of matter and density changes; the…

Presented are abstracts and abstractors' analyses of four studies dealing with cognitive development, four studies dealing with attitudes, and two studies dealing with problem-solving. The cognitive development studies are: "College Chemistry and Piaget: The Relationship of Aptitude and Achievement Measures" (David Bender and Louis…

To foster individual development, educators must seek the gifts in every child, in those not demonstrating academic abilities as well as in the most brilliant. Instead of stifling thinking, creativity, and interest development, educators must encourage these behaviors. Currently, a big discrepancy exists between the child's potential and what…

Data on the development of intelligence and the concept of giftedness are interpreted for use in the classroom and are applied to the development of strategies to optimize learning. The Integrative Education Model is introduced, with its purpose of empowering the learner physically, emotionally, cognitively, and intuitively. The teacher's role is…

This newsletter, focusing on literature and research on cognitive behavior modification (CBM), reviews articles and research on CBM with children. Works on retarded children, deaf children and children with learning disabilities are presented, with critical analyses. A parallel section on CBM with adults follows. Problem areas of phobias, anxiety,…

Presented are abstracts and analyses of eleven research reports related to mathematics education. Five deal with aspects of learning theory, three with classroom practices, and one each on student characteristics, cognitive development, and mathematics anxiety. Research related to mathematics education which was reported in RIE and CIJE between…

Two influential theories of intellectual development are reviewed and analyzed: the psychometric framework, based on the factorial composition of intelligence, and the Piagetian model, based on assimilation and accomodation through four stages of intellectual development. A third concept is the componential theory of intelligence, based on…

Issues pertaining to thinking skills are discussed in an attempt to clarify what thinking skills are and their components, how they function and how they can be developed in the teaching-learning environment. Chapter 1 reviews the definitions of thinking skills. These definitions are selected from the current literature on education and…

Research on the learning disabilities of adolescents and young adults and the findings on metacognitive development and its impact on academic learning provide a framework for the design and development of a secondary school curriculum foundation program for college bound learning disabled students. The major practical implications of the research…

Argues that early childhood experiences with processes as diverse as language, mathematics, emotion, and music determine which neurons grow and remain active in the brain. Early exposure to these processes results in receptive programming. Discusses the implications for schools, teachers, and parents. (MJP)

The reviews of articles contained in this issue have been grouped into those dealing with research related to cognitive development and to instruction. In addition, seven science education researchers have provided responses to critiques of their published research. Included are: (1) an analysis of an article designed to persuade researchers to…

Successive studies conducted in Sweden have shown that linguistic awareness is an important prerequisite of learning to read. In one survey that measured the various aspects of the linguistic awareness of 6-year-old children, a very close connection was found between preschool linguistic awareness and reading proficiency in school. Another study…

The relationship between children's language and their knowledge of the various features of their language and their reading is examined from the perspective of several prominent theories about the link between thought and language. The first chapter contrasts features of five significant contemporary theories of language and thought--the Russian,…

Progress is reported on research conducted in school settings to investigate methods to help students--especially at-risk students--to acquire and use knowledge to solve problems. The methods incorporate principles of learning and instruction derived from basic research on cognition. Specifically, the research involves using microcomputer and…

Eleven brief articles focus on specific learning disabilities with emphasis on programs in New York State and City. Articles have the following titles and authors: "The History of Learning Disabilities Revisited" (J. Wiederholt, G. Hale); "The Learning in Learning Disability--Ask What, Not Why" (R. Schworm) which stresses the…