Presents selected position papers and research papers influenced by the work of Jean Piaget, intended to help science educators understand Piaget's work and how it applies to science education. Emphasis on formal reasoning stage of development. (SA)

The author reviews findings in perception, cognition, psycholinguistics, and motivation, concentrating on the development of these processes in the nonreading and beginning reading child rather than in the mature processes of a skilled reader. She offers the following conclusions: (1) Research in perception suggests that there are developmental…

Reviews the influence of educational level on the intellectual performance of elderly individuals. Older individuals have more intellectual potential than previously has been reported. As cohorts receive greater educational opportunities, the negative stereotype of intellectual deterioration with age will no longer be accurate. (Author)

Contains 15 articles investigating and discussing issues generated by Piaget's theory of cognitive development. Discusses and examines questions related to object permanence, transitivity, conservation and the concept of necessity as these relate to children. Deals with the origins and causes of development, logical development, social and…

Two influential theories of intellectual development are reviewed and analyzed: the psychometric framework, based on the factorial composition of intelligence, and the Piagetian model, based on assimilation and accomodation through four stages of intellectual development. A third concept is the componential theory of intelligence, based on…

Discusses the nature of the internal representation of cognitive structure, the methodological problems involved in mapping it, and the proposed kinds of "maps." Reviews research on the organization of scientific concepts in semantic memory. (GA)

Theories concerning the relationship between language acquisition and cognitive development are examined, and implications for education are discussed. There is disagreement about the sources and processes involved in achieving linguistic performance, and in particular, determining linguistic competence. Among the many theories and modifications…

Many writers have suggested that comprehension occurs at several levels (e.g., literal, inference, and conclusion). However, many teachers spend as much as two-thirds of their time on lower-level skills such as phonics and literal-level comprehension skills. Some authors have suggested ways of assisting readers in achieving comprehension at more…

This paper argues that it is important to provide children with complementary activities in a horizontal arrangement in order to promote acceleration of vertical levels of thinking. A brief review of literature on the relationship between experience and logical thinking is presented and the definition and function of transfer are discussed.…

A Piagetian analysis of social development focuses on the changes in children's social concepts and the social factors which facilitate these changes. Piaget's early analysis of children's language into a 3-stage transition from egocentrism to fully socialized speech led to more general study of social behavior. Observations of children playing at…

Recent studies on schema theory and other concepts related to reading comprehension are discussed in this paper. Noting that the psycholinguistic model of reading views reading as a process of predicting meaning based on the reader's prior knowledge of language, the paper describes recent research that has led to a definition of reading…

Studies conducted with middle-class balanced bilinguals in "additive" environments, where both languages are prestigious, have generally reported that bilinguals showed a higher level of cognitive performance than monolinguals. In these studies, bilinguals showed higher levels of general intellectual skills, higher levels of divergent thinking, a…