The Cognition and Technology Group at Vanderbilt addresses concerns related to constructivism and instructional design that were raised in an earlier issue. Relationship of ecological psychology and constructivist theory is described, constraints on constructed knowledge are discussed, and the complexity of the Jasper series of math problems that…

Examines the need for the evaluation of syntactic complexity of instructional materials in order to match them to students' needs, discusses the shortcomings of traditional analysis, and provides activities that can be used to introduce syntactic structures to students. (HTH)

Examines difficulties children may have in reading Virginia Hamilton's "M. C. Higgins, the Great"; discusses the book and shows how teachers can promote children's appreciation for it by discussing some basic traditions as they appear in the book and by bringing into play children's knowledge of their own belief systems. (ET)

Outlines three types of diagnosis (formal, informal, and inferential) and three areas of diagnosis (difficulty of content, learning style, and use of principles of learning). Discusses considerations and sources of data for each of the three areas. (SS)

The use of ability variables for grouping students is pervasive in elementary schools. Teachers form these groups judgmentally, taking into account formal (e.g., test) and informal (e.g., personal observation) sources of information. Their judgments of students' abilities are reasonably accurate. Such grouping can be explained as functional on…