The article deals with the problems arising within transition from the traditional to the modern educational paradigm. Taking the use of school geography textbooks and teachers' guides as examples the author offers innovative technology for the development of student's personality cognitive experience implemented due to the combination of…

A considerable amount of learning, especially in the early years, is incidental learning. What is incidental learning? It is learning that occurs simply through exposure to the environment--what people hear, see, and experience. It takes place in the natural course of events, without intentionally directed instruction about how or what to learn.…

Presents an overview of a genetics course including explanations of major concepts, principles, and sequencing methods. Describes the typical participating student's background and prior knowledge level. Appendices contain a list of terms and three concept maps. (ML)

This paper examines research studies that have concluded that elementary school children can learn more difficult and abstract social studies concepts than are taught in the traditional social studies curriculum. Research studies that focus on constraints on cognition, the use of embedded concepts, and understanding knowledge restructuring and…

Movement is motivated, encouraged, and governed by psycho-social development, motor development, and humanistic principles as well as by exercise physiology and kinesiology. The Basic Stuff series identifies the body of knowledge which underlies purposeful movement and can be integrated into concept or fundamental skill curricula. (JN)

Maintains that certain concepts in mathematics are difficult to learn because of problematic continuity from prior knowledge to new concepts. Focuses on the problems of conceptual change connected with the learning of calculus and the shift from rational to real numbers. Summarizes the results of a study involving secondary students. (MJP)

In this article, the author emphasizes that the fundamental goal of environmental education in middle school is to establish the correct environmental awareness by teaching students that is vital to our survival to love nature and to take care of the environment. In other words, one should help students establish the correct outlook on nature,…

Explores the intuitive understanding of biology that occurs in early childhood and discusses later cognitive changes that occur. Young children possess a vitalistic understanding (e.g. breathing brings power to the body) that becomes mechanistic (e.g. an understanding of the heart and lungs) as they mature. Includes statistical and tabular data.…

This paper supports the position that Piaget's theory (including both structural and functional components), methods, and empirical data have a central role to play in the development of an effective, comprehensive pedagogy. A structural-developmental theory coordinates the teacher's knowledge of curriculum with knowledge of cognitive demands…

Describes five ways that high school students explain a chemical change. Discusses the differences in conceptual understanding of the students based upon their responses to questions about simple reactions. Presents additional classifications of conceptions of chemical reactions done by other researchers. (TW)

Proposes a framework for interpreting current research in science education. Presents four prototypes for describing research which are derived from comparisons and combinations of "spontaneous" and "formal" knowledge. Discusses possible applications of the use of the framework in science education. (TW)

Described is a computer-based tool, SemNet, which can be used by good and poor students to facilitate, extend, and polish their learning skills. Emphasized are skills associated with meaningful or deep-level learning. The components, use, and theoretical background of the software are discussed. (CW)

Defines a generalization as "a descriptive statement of broad application indicating a relationship between two or more concepts." Argues that successful teaching about generalizations can only occur when students understand the relationship between concepts and facts. Discusses four issues and four approaches related to teaching…

This is volume 4 of the series of translations of books from the Soviet literature on research in the psychology of mathematics instruction and on teaching methods influenced by the research. The introduction to this English language translation highlights the fact that significant advances have been made in the understanding of both the…

Introduces the constructivist theory of mathematical learning, and illustrates its application in a curriculum focusing on fundamental concepts. How knowledge is constructed, how concepts mature, and what it means to learn and to know mathematics are presented. Pedagogical implications of adopting a constructivist perspective on knowledge and…