Cognitive load theory's incorporation of evolutionary perspectives has generated several instructional designs based on movement, including the tracing effect, occurring when learners benefit from explicit instructions to trace out specific elements of lesson materials with the index finger. Historical descriptions of children's tracing behaviours…

The purpose of this article is to introduce a methodology for analyzing the complex configurations emerging in students' speech and drawing activities, having consequences for how and what students learn and make meaning of in science. Accordingly, we launch a methodology to unfold the multidimensional communication as to deepen the analysis of…

The paper brings Froebel's philosophy into conversation with that of Deleuze. We focus on "the fold" and "on self-activity" as key concepts that hold a special place in the monist philosophies of both thinkers. One point at which their (very different) ontologies coincide is their conceptualization of a cosmos in which…

Imagination is rarely acknowledged as one of the main workhorses of learning. Unfortunately, disregarding the imagination has some clearly negative pedagogical impacts: Learning is more ineffective than it should be and much schooling is more tedious than it need be. In this paper, we outline a somewhat new way of thinking about the process of…

Both local and global issues are typically dealt with in the Social Studies curriculum, or in curriculum areas with other names but similar intents. In the literature about Social Studies the imagination has played little role, and consequently it hardly appears in texts designed to help teachers plan and implement Social Studies lessons. What is…

"It is imagination, above all, that drives learning forward." With the eloquence and insight always associated with his work, Michael Armstrong considers how to recognise children's imaginative achievement: how to observe it, interpret it, value it and promote it. The child's exemplification of the power of the imagination demands our respect, but…

Investigates whether pretend play is an area of advanced understanding with reference to certain skills that are implicated in both pretend play and a theory of mind, including the ability to (1) represent one object as two things at once; (2) see one object as representing another; and (3) represent mental representations. (MDM)

This paper discusses several definitions of "intelligence" and "mind," concluding that the composing process which involves writing words requires the same acts of mind as the composing process by which we make sense of the world. Based on this assumption, several objectives are offered for developing composition courses for students with learning…

Without opportunities to acquire multiple forms of literacy, children will be handicapped in their ability to participate in the legacies of their culture. The forms in which thinking occurs should not be subjected to the status differences and inequities of society. (MLW)

Four experiments confirmed the widely accepted hypothesis that, although children as young as two engage in pretend play, even four and five year olds do not understand that pretending requires mental representation. Children appear to misconstrue pretense as its common external manifestations, such as actions, until at least age six. (MDM)

Extensive research has proven that the functions of the two hemispheres of the brain tend to be qualitatively different. The left hemisphere, which for most people is dominant, is the major controller of speech, reading, and writing; it is the hemisphere toward which education traditionally has been directed. The right hemisphere excels in…

AN INVESTIGATION WAS UNDERTAKEN TO EXPLORE THE INSTRUCTIONAL IMPLICATIONS OF JEAN PIAGET'S POSITION ON EQUILIBRATION. ONE PURPOSE WAS TO TEST THE GENERAL HYPOTHESIS THAT THE MISCONCEPTIONS OF CHILDREN, WHEN DISPLACED BY EVIDENCE CONTRARY TO THE MISCONCEPTIONS, GIVE RISE TO COGNITIVE CONFLICTS. THE RESULTS, IN GENERAL, CONFIRM THIS HYPOTHESIS. A…

The major components of playfulness in kindergarten children are physical, social, and cognitive spontaneity, manifest joy, and sense of humor. Children who are highly playful also show high scores in divergent and creative thinking. Piaget postulated that after the age of 7 or 8 this quality is replaced by assimilating the objective facts of the…

Children's magical explanations and beliefs were investigated in two studies. Found that many four-year olds view magic as a plausible mechanism, yet reserve magical explanations for certain real world events that violate their causal expectations. Parents and culture at large may at first actively support magical beliefs whereas peers and schools…

This paper reports on an experiment to determine: (1) the effects of two different styles of television program format on the ability of preschool children to recall program content and (2) the cumulative effect of sustained viewing of particular programs upon spontaneous play behavior. Three groups of preschoolers (totaling 58) were exposed to…