Policy documents in science education suggest that even at the earliest years of formal schooling, students are capable of constructing scientific explanations about focal content. Nonetheless, few research studies provide insights into how to effectively provide scaffolds appropriate for late elementary-age students' fruitful creation of…

Children personally construct explanations of natural phenomena, some of which differ from currently accepted scientific explanations. The replacement of personal explanations with scientific explanations, as well as the development of concrete, formal, and post-formal reasoning patterns, requires self-regulation in which alternative explanations…

Papers from the proceedings of the 14th Annual Conference of the Bulgarian Comparative Education Society were submitted in two volumes. Volume 1 contains papers submitted at the conference held in Sofia, Bulgaria, June 14-17, 2016. Volume 2 contains papers submitted at the 4th International Partner Conference of the International Research Centre…

Tested was the hypothesis that science instruction based on task analysis will lead to the acquisition of the ability to perform certain Piaget volume tasks which have been characterized as requiring formal operations for their solutions. A Test on Formal Operations and a Learning Hierarchies Test were given to fourth- and sixth-grade students in…

This monograph, published by the Science Education Programme for Africa (SEPA), is intended to help teachers and teacher educators with the skills and attitudes relating to learning science through activities designed to make the learner the center of attention. Presented is a review of Bruner's learning theory, Piaget's theory of intellectual…

Presents a philosophy for long term continuous observation of young children in order to study this intellectual development. A one year study of a class of 32 eight-and nine-year-old students was conducted. (SL)

Studied the intellectual differences between third and fourth grade Filipino children who had studied Science--A Process Approach (SAPA) and others who had studied a traditional curriculum. The SAPA children performed significantly better than the control group on a test of observing, comparing, and classifying simple geometric objects. (MLH)

Although the primary purpose of this study was to determine possible relationships between types of science programs used and intellectual development of sixth-grade students, a second purpose was to investigate possible effects of the sequence presentation of two programs. A third purpose was to investigate possible relationships between IQ…

The third-year evaluation results of an investigation extending through grade six. Studied performance of the same population, appearing in two previous evaluations, with sex, socioeconomic status, and maturity taken into account. Indicated third grade Science Curriculum Improvement Study (SCIS) children were superior to non-SCIS controls in both…

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…

Presents a series of activities intended to enable teachers to determine if children are ready to be introduced to the concept of speed. Reviews Piaget's theories and the empirical evidence on which the sequence is based. (Author/CP)

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)

Discusses the value of preserving wonder and curiosity as part of a child's intellectual growth and experience in elementary school science. Practical steps for handling students' wonder questions are identified, including children's knowledge, speculation and hypothesis, identification of possible inquiry methods, research, and sharing new…

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)

This study examined the effect of formal and concrete instruction upon science achievement and intellectual development of sixth grade students. Formal instruction, which emphasized oral and written language, included lecture, discussion, oral quizzes, written assignments, reading assignments, films, film strips, written tests, and quizzes.…