Incorporating an evidence-based approach in STEM education using data collection and analysis strategies when learning about science concepts enhances primary students' discipline knowledge and cognitive development. This paper reports on learning activities that use the nature of viscosity and the power of informal statistical inference to build…

The Every Student Succeeds Act grants states new flexibility to create more balanced assessment systems with a greater role for formative assessment. Drawing on lessons learned over three decades of research and reform, we argue that state and local leaders should take the lead in designing new assessments guided by two core principles: First,…

This article elucidates the unfolding of 3 phases of cognitive development through which typical children move during the first 2 years of life to illuminate the interrelationships among early cognition, communicative intention, and word-learning strategies. The resulting theoretical framework makes clear the developmental prerequisites for social…

Professional development is a recognized approach to improving the quality of instruction in schools. The goal of professional development is to increase teachers' knowledge and improve their practices, which lead to enhanced student learning. The problem with providing staff development is the high cost incurred by presenters' fees, and…

With recognition of the importance of scientific literacy for the nation and yet the increasing students' disinterest in science through school science curriculum, the Korea Science Foundation launched an innovative program called "Everyday Science Class (ESC)" in partnership with universities and local government offices in 2003. In…

Data collection can be the most time- and cost-intensive part of developmental research. This article describes some long-proposed but little-used research designs that have the potential to maximize data quality (reliability and validity) while minimizing research cost. In "planned missing data designs", missing data are used…

Not all knowledge and skills that educators want to pass to students exists yet in textbooks. Some still resides only in the experiences of practicing engineers (e.g., how engineers create new products, how designers identify errors in calculations). The critical incident technique, CIT, is an established method for cognitive task analysis. It is…

This paper reports on a longitudinal study involving 48 mother-infant dyads that attempts to explore the role of the caregiver-infant interactional environment in determining cognitive functioning as related to an understanding of environmental contingencies. The present report includes (1) a progress report to date of the longitudinal data…

Fifth and sixth grade students from the State College Area School District (Pennsylvania) participated in a 5-day resident outdoor education program to investigate the effectiveness of such a program on the development of cognitive learning processes. Students were divided into experimental and control groups of one fifth and one sixth grade class…

This paper describes the collecting of normative data concerning the development of East Indian babies and analyzes the information in terms of: (1) the influences of socioeconomic class; (2) urban-rural environmental differences; (3) sex differences; and (4) comparisons with children from the United States, Israel, and the United Kingdom. The…

This paper presents the research design for a longitudinal study of elementary school students, which will examine patterns of cognitive, affective, and social growth and identify the school and home variables which influence such growth. Shifts in dependent variables during a single school year will be examined during the initial year for all…

This report concerns the field procedures and data analysis being used in the New York City Infant Day Care Study, a large-scale longitudinal study examining publicly-funded, community-controlled group and family day care programs in New York and comparing the effects of these programs and of home rearing on children and their families. Children's…

Measuring cognitive achievement gains in project evaluation is dealt with. This guide provides those concerned with project evaluation with the basic tools for conducting technically sound, interpretable evaluation studies. Exotic designs are avoided and five basic models which appear feasible to implement in real-world settings are focused on.…

In order to expose disadvantaged preschool children to a variety of educational experiences and to health and social services, the New York State Legislature funded the State Experimental Prekindergarten Program (PreK). In 1975, a five-year longitudinal evaluation study was begun. The study has two major parts: (1) a general study of 5,800…