This study was designed to examine the effects of two factors on the delay behavior of six year old children, a large percentage of whom had not yet attained temporal operations. The subjects consisted of 60 black, first grade children from a lower class urban neighborhood school. The experimental design was a 2x3 factorial with the first factor…

Results obtained from the research were inconsistent, indicating no support for the thesis that objectives aid learning. Research recommendations are submitted, with conclusions drawn reflecting the positive attitudes toward presenting objectives. (JB)

New knowledge is made meaningful by relating it to prior knowledge. Although meaningfulness usually relates new knowledge to prior superordinate knowledge, arbitrarily meaningful knowledge, coordinate, subordinate, and analogic ideas, experiential knowledge, and cognitive strategy also facilitate learning. Optimization of prior knowledge is done…

Three empirical dimensions of curriculum structure are presented in this study of the differences among subject areas in student perception of cognitive and affective classroom processes. Class Activities Questionnaire items were used to obtain data from 121 Illinois classes in science, mathematics, social studies, and language arts for grades…

The relative effectiveness of including behavioral objectives, classified according to the major levels of cognition, in independent study materials for high school juniors is analyzed in this brief summary of the author's dissertation. The three major questions under consideration are whether: (1) the use of behavioral objectives has an effect…

Presented is the final report of a one-year project on the structure of high school mathematics knowledge sponsored by the National Institute of Education (NIE). The main body contains conclusions on a conceptual framework for representing high school mathematics. Results are presented through discussion of three domains from the secondary school…

This paper investigates how people acquire knowledge from maps. Emphasis is placed on heuristics--defined as the procedures that people use to select, combine, and encode map information in memory. The objective is to develop a theory of expertise in map learning by analyzing differences between fast and slow learners in terms of differences in…

A model of conceptual learning and development that provides a framework for studying the course of cognitive development throughout the school years and also studying the learning concepts across short time intervals is discussed in this paper. The theory includes five main propositions. First, children learn four successively higher levels of…

Growing interest in teaching philosophy in elementary and secondary school prompted a 1975 national survey to determine the present status of philosophy as a component in the curriculum. Possible contributions of philosophy to students' personal growth and critical thinking skills are explored. The first section of the paper presents the following…