Interviews with 4- to 8-year olds indicated that children's understanding of how it is that they can see object develops gradually. This article presents a map of this development in terms of two distinct modes of cognitive functioning, the ikonic mode and concrete symbolic mode, drawn from the interviews and the SOLO (Structure of Learning…

In this essay, research done on concept learning is discussed. The study analyzes concept learning as one form of learning, formulating guidelines for teaching concepts, and describes the abilities underlying the attainment of concepts. An analytical model is presented; various operations such as concrete concepts and identity concepts are…

Three units of instruction were given to 20 four-year-old children and 34 five-year-old children. Unit I was designed to develop the children's ability to establish a length relation between curved lines; Unit II, to develop ability to conserve length; and Unit III, to develop ability to conserve length relations. Testing of the children occurred…

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…

A sequence of reasoning processes based on a combination of theories developed by Jean Piaget is presented. An applied theory of concept-teaching is derived from the restructuring of Piagetian theories on logical thought specifically concerned with the notions of the additive and multiplicative ordering of groups, and the four logic processes of…

The present experiment compared direct and vicarious transfer in the attainment of affirmative and relational concepts. Second and third grade children were randomly paired as model and observer. The latter observed his yoked model solve the initial two-dimensional problem before solving the intrarule transfer task himself. No differences in…

Proposals for teaching concepts have been dominated by traditional paradigms. A review of research on concept structure and formation reveals evidence for alternative paradigms, e.g., exemplar, probabilistic, and schematic models. The research also indicates problems regarding the traditional models. Implications for relating alternative models to…

Investigates effects of an independent variable (grade) on three dependent variables (membership, partial association, and generalization) describing preferential styles of thinking in 1635 pupils, measured by a 16 concept word test. (DS)

Intended to introduce teachers to the concept approach in teaching social studies materials, the five chapters of this publication discuss (1) a definition of "concept" and the term's relationship to facts and generalizations, (2) the function of concepts in the social sciences, (3) how concepts develop, (4) how concepts are related to inquiry and…

This issue, part of an annual series prepared for Maryland educators, presents the problem solving aspect of learning behavior by reviewing some of the variables which affect how individuals confront intellectual problems. Selected studies and a bibliography which are helpful in developing instructional methods which take into account individual…

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)

Based upon Ausubel's theory of meaningful learning, this study focused on the use of concept maps (diagrams that portray relationships among concepts in a given area of study) to help students identify logical relationships between a new concept and concepts already known. Relationships of a learner's prior knowledge and cognitive development to…

This study attempted to determine whether children will relinquish their belief in Piagetian concepts upon presentation of disconfirming evidence. Two age groups were tested: third- and fourth-grade and sixth-grade. Conservation of weight and transitivity of weight were the concepts examined; the discrepant feedback consisted of three trials with…

Kindergarten and third grade children originally assessed in 1973 were retested one year later on a series of conservation and transitive inference tasks (length and weight content areas). An additional sample of matched cohort/grade subjects was assessed in the second year only to permit evaluation of repeat measurement biases for the…