First and second graders (n=81) were randomly partitioned into experimental and control groups. The experimentals were given experiences in sorting and seriating objects. Significant treatment and grade effects (p.01) were found on a seriation test, but no significant relationships between classification and transitivity nor seriation and…

Examines the issue of object sorting in early infancy. Forty-eight infants at 6, 9, and 12 months were presented with eight sets of small, manipulable objects. At six months, selective manipulation was absent; at nine months, 94 percent of the infants sequentially touched similar objects and at 12 months 100 percent did so. (Author/DB)

Matrix tasks to assess multiple classifications and multiple seriation skills were administered to 160 children (40 Ss each from preschool, kindergarten, first and second grade levels). Each child received six matrix subtasks (reproduction and transportation of cross classification I, double seriation, and cross classification II) in one of six…

Investigates the influence of logical skills (inclusion and seriation) on the degree and kind of semantic integration performed on remembered material among 47 third- and fourth-grade boys and girls and college students. (JMB)

This study examines the development of children's understanding of temporal cycles and the relationship between cyclic concepts and cognitive development. A sample of 62 children, ranging in age from 4 to 10 years, were administered Piagetian tests of classification and seriation and a variety of specially designed cyclic tasks. (Author/JMB)

A 3-year longitudinal study assessed cognitive changes among rural children 3 to 5 years old and validated the construct validity of the Nebraska Wisconsin Cognitive Assessment Battery (NEWCAB). Multistage area sampling techniques were used with a repeated measures, control group design. Participants in the sample were 40 3-year-olds, 57…

The purpose of this study was to develop and apply a composite test instrument in order to compare the academic performance and cognitive functioning of boys in educationally handicapped and regular classes. Ten subtests were chosen from standard tests. Tests of seriation and classification were constructed; the battery was then administered to 64…

This study investigated: (1) the level of thinking of the Iteso Primary School children in Uganda; and (2) whether abilities involved in the Piagetian tasks of conservation, classification, and seriation develop at the same rate. The subjects, ages 6 to 13 (the period of the 7-year African primary school) were interviewed in their own language and…

Studied effectiveness of instruction in seriation and classification for kindergartners cognitively lagging behind their peers. Found that extensive classification and seriation instruction in a variety of formats was particularly helpful in facilitating cognitive gains for struggling kindergartners. Individualized instruction provided children…

Two experiments which investigated the young child's ability to deal with multiplicative classes and relations (considered behavioral indices of concrete operations thought) in double series and cross class matrices are described and discussed. In the initial study, 160 children from preschool through grade 2 received six matrix subtasks…

Six mildly and moderately retarded children (ages 6-8) were instructed in the Piagetian constructs of unidimensional classification and/or seriation using the "Piacelleration" learning set technique. After one semester, subjects made significant gains on: classification and seriation tasks, the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test, and the…

Performance data for 42 subjects pertaining to seven course objectives and ten propositional logic tasks were analyzed for hierarchical relationships using ordering theoretic technique. The resulting hierarchy indicated that simple implication and particular contraposition propositional logic tasks were prerequisite to some course objectives. This…

Describes longitudinal study of the development of understanding of two logical properties of number by 36 children during the first three years of primary school in Glasgow. Piagetian tests and number skills tests were administered to explore the acquisition of number as class and number as order concepts. (Author/LRW)

Whether physical activity and verbal communication would affect kindergarten students' scores on the Metropolitan Readiness Tests (MRT) was investigated. Twenty subjects were administered Level I of the MRT when they entered kindergarten. For 5 days per week for 4 weeks, the 10 subjects in the experimental group worked at constructive play tasks…

This study examined the effect of an innovative teaching activity to improve concrete operational thinking skills with preschoolers in Head Start programs. A "learning set" of classification games and seriation games was used to teach the oddity principle and insertion into a series. These games were played with the children using toy ponies and…