In a mixed-methods study following 1551 adolescents from eight diverse schools across the US, a large majority demonstrated (a) strong norms of actively open-minded thinking (AOT) and (b) a widespread capacity for AOT. Students from two public (government) schools, two private (public) schools, and two charter (academy) schools were followed for…

Formal climate education without consideration of the ocean is incomplete. The effectiveness of a new climate lesson for youth that includes the ocean-climate nexus was examined by delivering the lesson to nine classes situated in separate British Columbia, Canada public schools and assessing the students' understanding of basic climate concepts…

The aim of the present study was to gain an insight into French young people's conceptual development regarding the greenhouse effect. Because this effect cannot be directly manipulated, we can assume that its conceptualization is mainly shaped through the sharing of information. Eighty French students from Grade Seven through to adulthood…

This study gives insights into how Logo-like microworlds can affect cognitive development related to mathematics education of students with math learning difficulties. In particular, we analyse the case of a 15-year-old student with dyslexia and severe dyscalculia. Among the various cognitive aspects involved, here we delve into the development of…

The period from adolescence through young adulthood is one of great promise and vulnerability. As teenagers approach maturity, they must develop and apply the skills and habits necessary to navigate adulthood and compete in an ever more technological and globalized world. But as parents and researchers have long known, there is a crucial dichotomy…

Children with mental retardation have pronounced difficulties in using cognitive strategies and comprehending abstract concepts--among them, the concept of sequential time (Van-Handel, Swaab, De-Vries, & Jongmans, 2007). The perception of sequential time is generally tested by using scenarios presenting a continuum of actions. The goal of this…

Examined the role played by experience with multidimensional stimuli in the child's ability to separate variables. (Author/DB)

Five arguments are presented as to the inappropriateness of Piaget's "stage of formal operations" as the final stage of cognitive development. (MJB)

Studied the development of the concepts of energy conservation and entropy in 5- to 15-year-old children. Energy conservation was not well understood until about age 15. Entropy was understood by 9- to 15-year-olds when the concept was illustrated by the gradual mixing of differently colored, rolling marbles. (Author/DB)

This study examined children's development of the concept of the reciprocal relationship of question and answer by asking subjects to form questions to fit given answers and to form answers for given questions. A total of 72 children (18 per grades 1, 4, 7, and 10) participated in the study. Each child was tested individually on two tasks (the…

Compares developmental changes in the processing of subordinate/superordinate relationships across perceptual and nonperceptual categories. Perceptual categories contained visually similar exemplars, while nonperceptual categories contained dissimilar exemplars. Second, fifth, and eleventh graders, as well as mentally retarded adolescents,…

In a study to determine procedural effects of volume conservation tasks performed by adolescent females, the results revealed that the LaVatelli water displacement test was significantly more difficult than the Elkind test or Piaget's test. (Author/RL)

According to Piaget's (1958) theory of cognitive development, the stage of Formal Operational Thinking, highly abstract, as opposed to concrete, thinking, emerges during the adolescent period. Recent research suggests that "all" adolescents, or even adults, "do not" develop complete formal reasoning. Attempts to integrate…

Two experiments examined development of economic understanding among 5-, 7- and 9-year-olds. Found that most 5-year-olds understood the goal of acquiring desired goods, and most 7- and 9-year-olds also understood the goals of seeking profits, acquiring goods inexpensively, and competing successfully with other sellers. Results suggest that older…