Research Findings: Two exploratory studies explored young children's views of brain function and whether these views can be modified through exposure to a brief classroom intervention. In Study 1, children aged 4-13 years reported that the brain is used for "thinking," although older children were more likely than younger children to…

In a recent study, Gevers and colleagues (2010, "Journal of Experimental Psychology: General," Vol. 139, pp. 180-190) showed that the SNARC (spatial numerical association of response codes) effect in adults results not only from spatial coding of magnitude (e.g., mental number line hypothesis) but also from verbal coding. Because children are…

The goals of the Head Start Impact Study (HSIS) are to: (1) determine the impacts of Head Start on children's school readiness and parental practices that support children's development; and (2) to determine under what circumstances Head Start achieves its greatest impacts and for which children (US Department of Health and Human Services, 2010).…

This study assessed children's graphic flexibility and their ability to report on their use of drawing strategies when drawing characterized figures. 253 children (129 boys, 124 girls) aged between 4 years 3 months and 11 year 10 months formed three groups, either drawing a man, a dog or a tree. Each group was asked to draw three emotionally…

Purpose: This study explored the type and adequacy of cohesive devices that are produced by school-age children who use African American English (AAE). Method: The language samples of 33 African American children, ages 7, 9, and 11 years, were transcribed, analyzed, and coded for AAE use and cohesive adequacy (e.g., personal reference,…

Reports a study involving 35 learning-disabled boys attending full-time remedial schools and 35 matched normal achievers to investigate whether learning-disabled children differ from normal achievers in terms of logical thought and whether they exhibit decalages in their acquisition of Piagetian concepts. (BD/BR)

On tasks involving assessement of the heights of colored sticks, kindergarten, third-grade, and adult subjects were successful on inferences involving only equalities or only inequalities across various conditions and procedures. A dramatic developmental increase in performance was found on inferences based on the combination of equality and…

While being videotaped, ten second graders and ten fifth graders retold the story of "Beauty and the Beast" which was read twice to them during the preceding week. Responses were evaluated for content and accuracy. Results showed that younger children more accurately recalled the story and more frequently mentioned its resolution. Older children…

Middle school students (N=25) with exceptional educational needs were matched with regular students and assessed for their level of moral reasoning using the Objective Assessment of Moral Development. Results indicate exceptional students select types of reasoning typical of younger children, and become less like their peers with age. (RC)

Presents results from an Australian study examining whether children who use cognitive strategies in solving simple addition questions develop greater proficiency in addition than children who do not use such strategies. Describes the subjects, instruments, procedure, and instructional treatment. Concludes that the development of cognitive…

Recent work on memory independence and memory interference in cognitive development has been conducted under fuzzy trace theory. Both memory-to-reasoning and reasoning-to-memory interferences were detected in 3 studies of inferences from stories by 94 4- and 5-year olds and 94 7- and 8-year olds. (SLD)

The purpose of this study was to determine how children at different ages understand the concept of temperature, examining particularly the logicomathematical aspects of the concept. In doing so, three developmental approaches were compared: (1) Piaget's structuralist approach; (2) Siegler's rule assessment approach; and (3) Anderson and…

Examines the relationship between formal operational reasoning and two language variables--subordinate clauses and tentative statements. Supports Piaget's position of independence between linguistic and cognitive development, showing how subordinate clause use and tentative statement use are not related significantly to performances on reasoning…

On the basis of a study involving 40 first-grade students, compares Pascual-Leone's and Keating and Bobbitt's developmental theories of information processing by contrasting their predictions about a classification task. Results falsified Keating and Bobbitt's model. Predictions from Pascual-Leone's theory were almost wholly confirmed. (RH)

Reviews some better known Piagetian scales; analyzes and compares Piagetian-based and conventional intelligence measures. Reviews research comparing the two methods and examines whether racial groups' performance differs on Piagetian measures. Discusses the implications of Piagetian assessment procedures for school psychologists. (Author/RC)