A systematic review was carried out to examine the use of robots in early childhood and lower level education. The paper synthesizes the findings of research studies carried out in the last ten years and looks at the influence of robots on children and education. Four major factors are examined--the type of studies conducted, the influence of…

This study attempted to determine the effectiveness of cognitive skills training on the verbal fluency of children in a bilingual environment. After a 14-week period, cognitive skills training had no significant impact on the verbal fluency of 103 fifth graders in south Texas. (MT)

Examines how children develop as writers and presents new ways of looking at children's problem solving in what they do and say during the writing process. Presents an outline of the general orders of child focus in the writing process. (HTH)

Metalinguistic cognition is the ability to think about language, to comment on it, to produce it, to comprehend it, and to manipulate language as an object with many identifiable and functional parts. It appears that metalinguistic skill development is related to cognitive development and is dependent on metalinguistic awareness which runs…

Investigated in this study was the relationship between an inquiry approach to science instruction and language development. Four classes of sixth-grade children from two socioeconomic groups participated in the study. The treatment consisted of 12 inquiry film sessions and six discussion sessions, each session 40 minutes in length. At the end of…

Three components of a curriculum organized to facilitate a concept acquisition process are discussed. These are concrete experiences related to a concept, skill development activities and applications. (MP)

The main purpose of the study was to ascertain whether the use of cost-benefit analysis by children tends to be age-related, a function of instructional mediation, both, or neither. The subjects included 220 first, second, third, and fourth graders ranging in age from six to nine years. One hundred and fourteen subjects were assigned to the…

A hierarchial sequence for map skills instruction is proposed and related to existing programs. Emphasis in this sequential structure is placed on gradual development of the student's ability to use grid reference systems and orient himself satisfactorily on maps, as well as the gradual acquisition of certain measurement abilities. (SM)

This article discusses the critical developmental factors in the modeling of motor skills and suggests practical implications for teachers of young children. Major factors for successful modeling involve the students' cognitive-developmental level and the students' motivational orientation. CJ)

Presents descriptions of the most commonly taught thinking skills and information on how to present, model, and practice those skills in class. The guide also includes a quiz designed to help the teacher take advantage of everyday opportunities to promote thinking skills, and 10 critical thinking skills strategies. (GLR)

A study was undertaken to measure the effect on reading comprehension of forcing attention to different levels of analysis. The assumption was that since texts can be analyzed at a variety of levels, comprehension requires a basic strategic coordination of processing activities. Forty second grade, fifth grade, and college students read and…

Investigated whether instructing children in the component skills underlying Piagetian transitivity tasks would increase their performance on both transitivity-related tasks and on reasoning tasks not directly related to transitivity. Results indicate that incorporating the quantification of certain abstract symbols, training can influence…

Describes an activity center where students work independently on problem-solving tasks. Participants keep records of their work and share ideas of activities with the class. Includes a list of tasks for the activity center. (MA)

Examined the ability of children from 6 to 12 years of age to draw human figures and to reconstruct the drawing abilities they possessed at earlier ages. Found that diachronic thinking, or the ability to understand a present situation as a stage in an evolving process, developed with age. (MDM)

Two short-term strategy training programs were used to teach learning disabled 9- to 12-year-old students (N=42) to use an organizational strategy for a memory task. A three-rule program stressing the acquisition of specific strategy content showed a greater transfer of learning than a six-rule program teaching both specific strategy content and…