This article (1) discusses the progression of children's thought from realism to objectivity, to reciprocity, and to realitivity; and (2) describes seventeen types of explanations children give to explain the causality of physical occurrences in the world. (SB)

The author presents a series of programmed exercises designed to help teachers develop the skills necessary to incorporate Piaget's concepts of child intellectual development into effective classroom use. (MB)

Stresses the importance of learner involvement, and adult patience and understanding, for a child's success in learning and consequently in living. (EB)

It was found, as expected, that the number of subjects giving conservation responses did not reach 50 percent until age 12. Schooling did not seem to be a major factor in accelerating the attainment of concrete operations. Social class and urbanization had an effect on several tasks. (Author/AM)

Experimenters analyzed a prose passage into 350 idea units, then interspersed throughout the text pictures depicting main ideas, or both main ideas and nonessential details. For fourth- and sixth-grade subjects, pictures did facilitate both immediate and delayed recall, but only of main ideas. (Author/JEG)

Metaphors of similarity and proportionality, together with a pictorial form of similarity metaphors, proverbs, and several Piaget-type cognitive tasks, were given to 50 boys aged 5 through 13 years. Results indicated that metaphor comprehension is a type of classificatory behavior, the development of which is related to maturing cognitive…

The author examines current techniques used to teach elementary school children how to analyze and compare. Emphasis is placed upon developing these modes of mental activity while teaching biological concepts. (DE)

This document reports the results of two studies performed to determine the effectiveness of special lessons in facilitating the attainment by children of the basic concept "tree." The first study, which utilized 103 fifth-grade students, also investigated the effects of pretesting. Results showed no significant effects of pretesting and…

The development of cognitive processes is essential to the development of reading comprehension skills. (MKM)

A sex-related difference, favoring boys, was found on initial performance of two samples (one British, one American) of 10- and 11-year-old children on tasks involving volume and density. After classroom instruction that included opportunities for interaction with appropriate materials, both sexes performed at higher levels but differences…

Sixty-six elementary education upperclassmen were tested to determine their Piagetian stage of intellectual development. Results indicated 26 percent were very formal, 52 percent formal, 15 percent transitional, and 8 percent concrete. (SL)

An increase in the cognitive restructuring aspect of field-independence was found to be associated with an increase in formal operational thought in 11- to 12-year-olds who were given materials designed to achieve this result. Materials used (including computer programs) are described in an appendix. (JN)

One hundred thirty-six 5-to-10-year-old Israeli children were given three black and white photographs of a highway, a column of identical tanks, and a row of elephants, and were asked some questions on each one of the photographs in order to elicit responses of three-dimensional perception. (CM)

Suggestions are given relating to having plants and animals in the classroom to stimulate development of the understanding of the concept of being alive, a concept not really understood by children under age nine. The research reviewed promotes firsthand experiences to help form concepts of living and nonliving, of identity and causality. (EB)