In acknowledging the privilege that we as Montessorians are given, "the privilege of being present as children construct themselves," Mary Caroline Parker proposes that parents also should be given that same privilege. Parker created an "Art of Observation" workshop for the parents at her school. She walks us through the…

Research indicates that gender influences how children learn. Those findings do not necessarily mean that boys learn one way and girls another. Still, there are significant differences with respect to gender and how our brains develop. Researchers have found that no single area of development influences those gender differences: rather, a…

A description is given of how an art teacher increased childrens' observational skills by teaching them to focus on the subtle visual details of natural objects. A brief list of helpful books is provided. (JD)

A mathematics curriculum for moderately and severely retarded and autistic students and adults should possess 10 necessary characteristics, including provision for instruction based on assessment results, stress on functional application, focus on generalization of skills, and specific criteria for mastery of each skill. The functional but…

A reading program for second- and third-grade nonreaders based on neurological development rather than reading or perceptual skills is described. Results of a study of 24 children in the program showed average gains of eight months in reading ability in four months of instruction. (PHR)

Although there is unanimity among educators that art and art education exert a positive influence on children, diverse philosophical, social, and psychological views and values have inhibited the formation of teaching goals and strategies that acknowledge the emotional and cognitive significance of visual art. The general aims of art education…

The main thrust of American education has been cognitively oriented. Recent research on the human brain suggests that such orientation is a general function of only one hemisphere of the brain, the left. Because of the close relationships among speech, language, thinking, reasoning, and the higher mental functions, the left brain hemisphere…

Describes a series of exercises designed to develop student's perceptual skills and to improve the processes of comparing, describing, and developing subsets. Includes suggestions for adapting the exercises into science lessons, providing tips for developing each into complete units. Units include human-made objects, leaves, shells, rocks, and…

Sensory and motor experiences are essential in childhood and are the foundation for all higher level learning and skill acquisition. This paper examines how young children make sense of sensory experiences, focusing on infants and toddlers, preschoolers, and school-age children. It also looks at the importance of creating an environment rich in…

Perceptual-motor functioning is a cyclic process involving: (1) organizing incoming sensory stimuli with past or stored perceptual information; (2) making motor (internal) decisions based on the combination of sensory (present) and perceptual (past) information; (3) executing the actual movement (observable act) itself; and (4) evaluating the act…

This paper describes an educational intervention program for academically failing students which focuses on visual perceptual skills and learning strategies. It considers visual perceptual problems as the undetected cause of much academic failure. Basic visual skills necessary for academic success are identified including visual acuity, binocular…

In this first of a two-part integrated unit for teaching young children about trees and forests, the authors present activities which sharpen awareness of trees by using the senses. (LZ)

This paper describes components of the Central Institute for the Deaf (Missouri) auditory learning program for children with assistive listening devices, including: (1) audiologic management of the sensory aids; (2) a device-specific curriculum, listing objectives in a developmental sequence; and (3) appropriate teaching activities for reaching…

Working toward a definition of a developmental model, evaluated how children (N=385) perceive their natural environment by coding their responses to words "Nature is" presented to them on a piece of paper. Results are discussed in terms of age/grade levels corresponding to characteristics of literalism, organization, and moralism. (JN)

Examines children's knowledge and understanding of global spatial relationships. Utilizing cut-outs of continents to estimate their size in relation to Europe, the students consistently underestimated the size of Asia and overestimated Australia. Possible reasons for this are discussed and teaching approaches suggested. (MJP)