This paper reports on a portion of a 14-year study of the mathematical thinking of a cohort group of students that was based on an identifiable perspective on how mathematical ideas are built. Three videotape episodes are presented so that groups of students working together can be viewed at three points in time: as fourth graders (ages 9-10) and…

Seventy-one college general biology students were taught a unit in Mendelian genetics by the traditional lecture method. Emphasis was placed on meiotic formation of gametes, dominance, segregation, and independent assortment. The Punnett square model was used for all practice problems. While using this model, students were asked to: (1) identify…

This paper demonstrates a method for constructing long variables using items that elicit partically correct responses across ages. Long variables may be defined by students at different ages (year levels) attempting common items within a test containing other items considered to be appropriate for each age or year level. A developmental model of…

A dangerously simplistic reductionistic movement, with a stress on the teacher as a technician, operating increasingly in a mechanistic way, is evolving in teacher preparation programs. This paper is constructed in light of the distorted consciousness likely to be acquired by prospective teachers as a result of this constraining movement. It has…

Discussed are some issues and queries about research in language and language acquisition. In particular, the area of inquiry is the logic subjacent to communication. In question here are the foundations of communication. What, if anything, underlies language? The unorthodox position developed in this paper has ambitious assumptions and slim…

The term, "schema," used largely as a descriptive convenience rather than a theoretical guidepost in social psychology is examined through an analysis of its development, function, and structure. This paper articulates a model of schema development in adults by defining a schema as a representation of some stimulus domain and a set of…

This paper takes the position that logical knowledge is distinct from conceptual and procedural knowledge and can make a unique contribution to the understanding of knowledge acquisition. This view of logical knowledge departs from the traditional Piagetian view of stages and the overriding view of logic as the sole means of constructing new…

In this paper, I draw together a corpus of findings derived from two sources: studies of students using computers to learn mathematics, and research into the use of mathematics in professional practice. Using this as a basis, I map some elements of a theoretical framework for understanding the nature of mathematical knowledge in use, and how it is…

A study analyzed the perspectives, as expressed in gestures, of six sixth-grade students in science classes as they either explained in-the-moment or described book-learned or previously thought-out ideas. Student behaviors were analyzed for evidence of three perspectives: (1) outside observer, shown by the observer standing apart from his gesture…

The literature of reading theory and research suggests a number of key factors involved in the comprehension process. In simplest terms, comprehension is the process by which an individual actively generates meaning from some linguistic input. Five factors of reading comprehension have been identified through research: vocabulary knowledge, the…

The paper describes an experimental program for college freshmen which applies Piaget's theory of human development to students' academic and social experiences. The program, Accenting Development of Abstract Processes of Thought (ADAPT), was designed to facilitate movement of students from concrete operational thought patterns to more formal…

This paper reports research from four studies of how teachers come to learn professional knowledge based on theoretical frameworks of the developmental theories of Piaget (cognitive development), Kohlberg (moral development), Loevinger (ego development), and Hunt (conceptual development). Studies proceed on the assumption that a perspective of…

This paper analyzes a study designed to determine if students understand the concept of democracy and can apply democratic principles. It also compares the study with related investigations conducted in Europe and calls for improved teaching to make the concept of democracy comprehensible. In 1974, 1,000 high school seniors in Pennsylvania…