In this study, we investigated elementary student teachers' scientific habits of mind for a series of socioscientific issues, and compared their views with respect to academic performance and type of programme. The sample consisted of 1,600 student teachers from science education, mathematics education, primary teacher education and social science…

Even when two-digit numbers are irrelevant to the task at hand, adults process them. Do children process numbers automatically, and if so, what kind of information is activated? In a novel dot-number Stroop task, children (Grades 1-5) and adults were shown two different two-digit numbers made up of dots. Participants were asked to select the…

Research indicates a strong relationship between phonological awareness and reading success. Phonemic intervention programs clearly show the benefits of explicitly teaching phonological awareness skills. Phonological awareness skills vary in nature and degree of difficulty and appear to follow a developmental progression. This study examined a…

Investigated similarity in pattern of strengths and weaknesses between 585 elementary school students who were evaluated and either placed in special education or not placed in special education. Data from 18 composite scale scores obtained from the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Childen-Revised revealed parallel profiles, suggesting that the two…

Explored the effects of sorting methods upon the content of children's constructs. Results indicated that dyadic sorting and free response methods of construct elicitation differentially affect the types of constructs produced. (Author/BL)

Compares elementary cognitive processes (memory access, memory span, simultaneous and successive processing, and word reading) to spelling performance in average and reading-disabled children. Finds no classroom ability group differences in cognitive processing. Notes consistent differences in letter memory access and word reading by poorer…

Matched groups of normal and retarded readers were required to perform same/difference judgments in which the interval between standard and comparison stimuli was either 0, 1, or 6 seconds. (BRT)

A study compared a parallel distributed processing (PDP) model with a more traditional symbolic information processing model that accounts for early reading acquisition by human subjects. Two experimental paradigms were simulated. In one paradigm (a "savings" paradigm) subjects were divided into two groups and trained with two sets of…

First-, third-, and fifth-grade children played a board game with another same-age, same-sex child. Results demonstrated why young children are as likely to respond competitively as cooperatively under shared-reward conditions. (BJD)

Nine- and ten-year old good and poor readers read a target sentence, either a word or a pseudohomophone, preceded by incongruous, congruous, or no-sentence context for the pseudohomophones. Results were consistent with the interactive-compensatory model of reading proposed by Stanovich. (FL)

Time taken to count stimuli was compared among three groups each composed of 22 elementary-aged children (with autism, with moderate learning difficulties, and normally developing). Results suggest that children with autism showed a tendency toward an analytic level of processing. While groups differed on measures of counting speeds, children…

Comparison of the written stories of 96 learning-disabled and 96 non-learning-disabled students found significant differences at grades 3, 4, and 5 in students' inclusion of a complete story grammar. No differences were found at grade 6. (Author/DB)

A study sought to compare the performance of elementary school students referred for learning difficulties on the Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children (K-ABC) and the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (WISC-R) and to examine similarities and differences in performance on the two instruments between those placed in…

While being videotaped, ten second graders and ten fifth graders retold the story of "Beauty and the Beast" which was read twice to them during the preceding week. Responses were evaluated for content and accuracy. Results showed that younger children more accurately recalled the story and more frequently mentioned its resolution. Older children…