Generalization is critical to mathematical thought and to learning mathematics. However, students at all levels struggle to generalize. In this paper, I present a theoretical analysis connecting Piaget's assimilation and accommodation constructs to Harel and Tall's (1991) framework for generalization in advanced mathematics. I offer a theoretical…

Prior research suggests that preschoolers can generalize object properties based on category information conveyed by semantically-similar labels. However, previous research did not control for co-occurrence probability of labels in natural speech. The current studies re-assessed children's generalization with semantically-similar labels.…

Issues emerging from instructional innovation are inevitable, yet basing any curriculum shift on a theoretical framework is paramount. This paper grounds the case-based pedagogy in three learning theories: behaviorism, cognitivism, and constructivism. The three theories are described and situated in relation to the case study method. An…

This paper presents a formulation of a constructivist perspective and shows how it is applicable to teacher education. (CM)

This operational theory of adult learning is based on the premise that learning is a problem-solving process involving attention, differentiation, structuring, integration, abstracting, and generalization. (Journal availability: Department of Adult Education, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506.) (SK)

A study was conducted to examine the process of the development of knowledge structures concerning events. Specifically, it investigated (1) the ways in which individuals build theories about events as they experience them; (2) the number of events an individual must experience, and how similar those events must be, before he or she begins to…

Working from a rationale derived from cognitive learning theory, this study was designed to investigate the extent to which the formation and modifiability of first impressions may be affected by the perceiver's tendency to associate the stimulus person with some other individual. Fifty subjects rated their initial attractions toward male and…

The terms generalization and abstraction are used with various shades of meaning by mathematicians and mathematics educators. Introduced is the idea of "generic abstraction" that gives the student an operative sense of a mathematical concept and provides a passage point in the process toward formal abstraction. (MDH)

The article presents a model of learning based on the four learning stages of (1) acquisition, (2) proficiency, (3) maintenance, and (4) generalization. The importance of directing instruction at the appropriate learning stage is stressed and examples are given. (DB)

Twenty-five children with specific language impairment (SLI) and 25 children with normal language (NL) were presented with novel vocabulary and bound-morpheme learning tasks. SLI children had significantly lower vocabulary learning levels and less ability to generalize bound morphemes than NL children. Results support the storage/access but not…

A model of informational interaction between teachers and learners has been developed and the first facet for its taxonomy derived. The model focuses on the internal cognitive events of teaching and learning in human beings generally, rather than on the specific roles of instructor and student. Teacher-learner communication is described in terms…

Two experiments examined children's early judgments about numerical relations. Found that children as young as three years old are already adept at reasoning about relations between sets, independently of their ability to form numerical representations. Results support the existence of protoquantitative schemas, or ways of thinking about relations…

Current teacher education is criticized, and suggestions are made for improvement. It is pointed out that an essential factor is missing from teacher education curriculum. This factor is the systematic translation of what is now known about human learning into teacher and learner behavior in the classroom. While the results of abundant research in…

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…