College freshmen chemistry students who performed best on the course examinations possessed both relevant facts and relevant subsuming concepts. This conclusion supports Ausubel's theory of learning. The presence of facts unorganized by subsumers had little facilitating effect on learning of new materials. (AL)

First graders who had been exposed to the Child-Structured Learning in Science curriculum (CSLS) were compared according to their achievement on a cognitive test instrument to two groups who had not had the CSLS treatment. Results revealed that a greater percentage of children in the CSLS treatment group performed on a concrete-operational level,…

Criticizes weaknesses in the Gagne research model for checking the validity of learning hierarchies, and proposes a new model which is designed to overcome these weaknesses. (JR)

A model constructed by combining nine theories relating wait-time, teacher expectations, equity and fate control to inquiry behaviors is described. Results indicate implusive students can be converted to reflective pupils by providing them with time to think and by allowing alternative answers. (BR)

This study explores the acquisition of proportionality by investigating the relationship between an understanding of proportionality and the development of cognitive structure in the domain of mechanics. (Author/MA)

A 2x3x2 factorial design was used to study the effects of sex, verbalization of concepts by students, and information supplied by other students" or teachers" or performance in a multiple classification seriation task by fourth grade students. There was a significant interaction of sex and information source. (AL)

Hypothesized that instructional methods employing concrete models and exemplars of a concept will lead to better student understanding at both the concrete and formal operational levels of cognitive development. However, concrete operational students did not profit from the instructional methods and results were not clear for early formal…

This study was designed to assess the effectiveness of one semester's instruction in science and mathematics, using an inquiry-based methodology, in facilitating cognitive growth in first year college students. Results indicated the inquiry approach did not promote cognitive growth in comparison with a more didactic or expository teaching…

Investigates the effect of three models of teaching college astronomy on knowledge acquisition, based on the principles of kinetic structure analysis and the psychological concept of mass versus distributed practice. Results indicate that distributed integration is better than nondistributed integration in teaching certain fields in astronomy. (HM)

Describes an empirical method of developing learning hierarchies by comparing success on each tested behavior with all other behaviors. Advantages, compared with validation of a particular logical hierarchy, are illustrated by application of density principles to prediction of flotation. (AL)

Argues that the Piaget's epistemic subject is not supported by evidence and contains weaknesses. Concludes that the epistemic subject is dead and that continued acceptance of this aspect of Piagetian theory would be counterproductive. (PR)

This commentary refers to a recent paper (1975) by Sayer and Ball in this journal concerning the relationships between formal operational thought and science achievement, and requests additional information on the representativeness of the sample and the performance of boys and girls on the Piagetian tasks. The requested information is provided.…

Criticizes the Ring and Novak article in terms of factor identification, conclusion validity, and random nature of fact retention. Indicates that their reported evidence is insufficient to support the conclusions. (CC)

Studies of the hierarchical attainment of conservation of physics concepts revealed significant differences with respect to age, sex, and grade level in a random sample of seventh and eighth grade students. Conservation of a quantity did not necessarily depend on the prior conservation of its constituent fundamental quantities. (MLH)

Kindergarten children who had been given cues during instructional sessions on serial ordering performed significantly better on serial ordering posttests than did the control group (no instructional sessions). Author concludes that the acquisition of serial ordering capabilities depends in part on learning and not solely on the development of…