Students using the Science Curriculum Improvement Study curriculum were informally observed to be incapable of defining a system although they could perform related tasks. A study was performed to determine students' understanding of various aspects of systems. (SD)

The autoinstructional activities included in this booklet were designed to be used to teach fifth-grade students the science concept "tree" at the formal level of attainment. The instructional strategies used in the lessons had been shown in previous studies to facilitate concept learning when used singly or in combination with one…

Reviews the conceptual and developmental issues associated with learning time concepts. Demonstrates how important time concepts are to all subject areas and provides an analysis of the use of time concepts in two widely-used standardized tests. Offers six guidelines for teaching time concepts to children and illustrates these guidelines with…

This paper examines research studies that have concluded that elementary school children can learn more difficult and abstract social studies concepts than are taught in the traditional social studies curriculum. Research studies that focus on constraints on cognition, the use of embedded concepts, and understanding knowledge restructuring and…

This paper outlines two alternate ways in which concepts are acquired, known as "top down" and "bottom up". "Bottom up" refers to learning the members of a category and then extracting their similarities or differences, the rule or criterial attributes used to make the categorization. In the "top down"…

Provides a series of concepts which may aid in the formation of behavioral objectives and learning experiences for elementary school children. Coping behaviors, decision making, life style, self-development, educational awareness, attitudes and appreciations, and career information are considered integral parts of a career education program with…

Kindergarten and third grade children originally assessed in 1973 were retested one year later on a series of conservation and transitive inference tasks (length and weight content areas). An additional sample of matched cohort/grade subjects was assessed in the second year only to permit evaluation of repeat measurement biases for the…

Students in elementary art programs, designed using Utah's new official art guide "Art Is Elementary," demonstrated significant gains in cognitive achievement compared with students in regular art classes. The new art guide changed the focus of art teaching from a projects approach to an emphasis upon valid art concepts. (RM)

Parts I and II of a four-part report on a study of the relevance of existing knowledge about child development to social science curriculum development are combined in this document. Part I explores the problem of inadequate communication between the developmental psychologists and curriculum workers and suggests some directions for cooperative…

This paper supports the position that Piaget's theory (including both structural and functional components), methods, and empirical data have a central role to play in the development of an effective, comprehensive pedagogy. A structural-developmental theory coordinates the teacher's knowledge of curriculum with knowledge of cognitive demands…

The summary final report of the Anthropology Curriculum Project is intended to provide an account of accomplishments and findings. The purpose of the Project was to develop and field test systematic content in anthropology for elementary social studies, with progressive development centered on mastery of the fundamental concepts and their…

This investigation is concerned with evaluating an instructional method based on Ausubel's description of expository teaching using advance organizers (AO) lessons. AO lessons are a method used to increase retention and transfer by identifying the general ideas that form the structure of a subject matter area. This study distinguishes between AO…

This guide for teacher K-12 is an outgrowth of an earlier guide for the teaching of social studies in Wisconsin schools. The new guide re-emphasizes the teaching of social knowledge and skills and devotes approximately one half of its length to the teaching of values, a subject neglected in the earlier guide. In the first two sections dealing with…

Discusses students' formation of concepts about energy, classifying responses as living/nonliving, human (vitalism or activity), and nonhuman (supply or demand). Observations were based on class discussions and free writing, followed by questioning to check on stability of concepts. Also collected and reported are student responses (examples of…

Proposes a framework for interpreting current research in science education. Presents four prototypes for describing research which are derived from comparisons and combinations of "spontaneous" and "formal" knowledge. Discusses possible applications of the use of the framework in science education. (TW)