In answer to points raised by Dansky (1985) about specific inferences from Simon and Smith's study (1985) and broader issues about a single-session paradigm used in play and problem solving studies, Simon and Smith argue that their study adequately demonstrated how methodological factors in paradigm can swamp the effects of any treatment…

Describes materials mastery and symbolic development as two discrete but related processes that preschool children learn. Uses the preschool setting to identify the developmental stages of construction play. (AS)

Explores the relationship between the cognitive area of reading and selected developmental aspects of symbolic play among first-grade males. Results indicate that advanced readers have attained an equilibrium between assimilation (play) and accommodation that results in their advanced reading performance. (Author)

This study presents a qualitative description of changes in social and symbolic behaviors in an African-American girl with autism over a period of 10 years (from age 5 to 15 years), with emphasis on ages 9 to 11. The primary purpose of the investigation was to elucidate the process ultimately leading to reciprocal social relations and symbolic…

Concludes that the dramatic play context requires children to convey meaning through explicit oral language in order to introduce and sustain play episodes. (FL)

Black and white middle class preschool children were compared on the frequency with which they engaged in functional, constructive, and dramatic cognitive play across interactive and noninteractive social play situations. Results of analyses yielded no significant racial differences on the cognitive play types across interactive and noninteractive…

"Tools of the Mind" is an early childhood curriculum for preschool and kindergarten children, designed to foster children's executive function through development of self-regulation, working memory, and cognitive flexibility. Activities emphasize both executive functioning and academic skills. One study of "Tools of the Mind"…

Noting that children's play activities, particularly the development of dramatic scenarios, have been a central focus of developmental-interaction thinking over many decades, this paper explores the emphasis on play and the specific meanings accorded to it within this developmental-interaction tradition. The first part of the paper considers the…

Evaluates the effects of an intensive period of dramatic play upon the cognitive structures of 12 three- to five-year-old children. (CM)

This article gives a brief historical account of the principal rationales of drama in education in England, pursuing the notion of distortion of the nature of drama itself. By looking at past mistakes, we may better assess the place of drama in today's curriculum. (MT)

Theoretical correspondences between the language and play development of young children and developmental aspects of play and speech are discussed prior to a report of a study comparing categories of cognitive complexity nested within social categories of solitary play and self speech. Participants were 36 preschool boys and girls approximately…

Defines educational drama as role-taking" which consists of creative work" and coping-work." (Author/SW)

Creative dramatics or child-oriented dramatic play is a basic educative process that draws upon the learning strategies developed in children's play and relates them to classroom learning tasks. As a structured play process that encourages children to explore the world in ways familiar to them, creative dramatics relates new experiences to old…

This study explored the relationship between symbolic representation in dramatic play and art and cognitive and reading readiness levels of kindergarten children. Results indicated children at different cognitive levels performed significantly differently on the Metropolitan Reading Readiness Test and spent significantly different amounts of time…

Describes learning activities based on the U.S. Constitution that enhance higher level thinking skills in elementary students. One activity proposes a hypothetical constitutional amendment banning Saturday cartoons; a second taxes children's earnings; and other activities focus on dramatizing events surrounding the Constitutional Convention. (LS)