This paper asserts that the most common mistake that adults make when relating to children who are grieving is to assume that children think like adults. It presents an outline of children's perceptions of death for children between the ages of 1 and 3, and for 4-year-olds, 5-year-olds, 6-year-olds, 7-year-olds, 8-year-olds, and 10-year-olds. The…

The author describes an evaluation of persons with suspected learning disabilities. Two types of tests are considered (mental maturity and basic language skills) and examples of each are given. Sample profiles exhibiting irregular development of aptitudes are provided and observations from informal as well as formal assessment are suggested. (CL)

The theory and purpose underlying R. Feuerstein's Learning Potential Assessment Device (LPAD) is reviewed, and implications for deaf education considered. It is argued that LPAD use will enhance: (1) assessment of deaf children from non-standard American backgrounds; (2) incorporation of assessment results into educational programming; and (3) the…

The paper reviews cognitive development during the sensorimotor period (approximately the first two years of life) and considers approaches to assessing multihandicapped, deaf-blind, or severely/profoundly retarded students functioning at this level. Evaluation and training of basic sensorimotor schemes (visual fixation and tracking, sucking, and…

The paper addresses the assessment of sensorimotor and communication skills in profoundly/multiply handicapped children. The problems inherent in assessing this population are described, including lack of validity of developmental norms established on children with intact sensory systems. Factors affecting sensory organization are reviewed,…

Claims developmental education has been the central medium of upward social mobility for the American lower and middle classes. Outlines the accomplishments of developmental educators as well as the national trends that bear directly upon the work of developmental educators. (NH)

The theoretical literature which has had an impact upon the teaching of composition and which has evolved into the language across the curriculum approach to education, focuses upon the interaction of language and learning. By teaching about speaking and writing, educators are potentially teaching students how to learn. Language functions to…

Courses for new instructors of composition--teaching assistants--can be conceptualized to view learning and teaching as a continuing and reciprocal process. Various psychologists, including Piaget and Lev Vygotsky, show phases in the development of conceptual learning. This theoretical base may be used as a starting point for a course for teaching…

Jean Piaget's theories of development are reviewed and implications for instruction of mildly and moderately retarded children are drawn. Piagetian research with the retarded is traced, particularly the work of Barbel Inhelder. The research cited concludes that the cognitive development of retarded children follows the same pattern as normal…

Recent research on human memory and cognition with particular emphasis on research that might have some promise for mathematics education is reviewed. The focus is on techniques for analyzing the mind in two areas: (1) the architecture of the human memory system, using the information processing model; and (2) the content and structure of…

The paper suggests that a cognitive or psychoeducational perspective is valuable in counseling mentally retarded individuals. Psychoeducational considerations in pretreatment assessment, with an emphasis on process rather than product, are noted; and it is explained that counseling of mentally retarded persons can be enhanced through the use of…

The paper explores the role of parents and the nuclear family in optimal development of gifted preschool children. The family helps the child accomplish basic developmental tasks by adapting to the child's critical needs and interests in appropriate ways. While stimulating academic skills is important, affective education to aid the acquisition of…

This document discusses culture, identity, and cognitive development. It focuses on acculturation of English-as-a-Second-Language learners, discussing criteria for transferring students with limited English proficiency into the mainstream and the difference between language disabilities and learning difficulties. The following forms are included:…

This paper asserts that the more enriching the interactions and experiences that parents and child caregivers provide to very young children, the more chances they are providing for growing neural connections and pathways in the brain to support language, reasoning, and planning skills; mental health and emotional well-being; and motor…

Drawing from basic assumptions about learning and critical thinking skills, this paper suggests a teaching method for helping community college students to use their critical thinking capacity in their college courses. First, a series of assumptions commonly held by teachers about the nature of learning are presented, and contrasted with…