Jean Piaget's theories about the development of intelligence and their implications for educational practice are explored. Before Piaget began studying the intellectual processes of children, researchers regarded them as "little adults." He derived his early fame from his theory of the "cognitive stages" of childhood. He…

The relationship between learning ability and intelligence has continually been a focus of theory and research. It is argued in this paper that the inconclusive results of studies relating individual differences variables such as intellectual abilities to learning are due to a too pragmatic, theoretical orientation. Theoretical models explicating…

Article discusses problems associated with promoting intellectual growth in adulthood. Defines characteristics of intelligent behavior as incorporating individual attainment of Resources, Intimacy, Competence, and Health (RICH). Presents the RICH theory as a way to define and address the goals of intelligent enhancement. (JDM)

Describes two experiments on conservation of weight and volume based on Piaget's experiments. These experiments showed that some college students were unable to operate at the formal operations level. (PS)

The ideas and practices of two philosopher-educators and their implications for experiential education are surveyed. Earl Kelley holds that learning is not a matter of acquisition and acceptance, but a result of process and subject to continuous modification. He maintains that the educational system disregards and impedes the learner's purpose. He…

Characterizes intelligence in terms of learning processes and uses the concepts and methods of other disciplines to understand how the conditions responsible for the development of its constituent processes and the manner of their organization lead to variations in effectiveness of intellectual functioning. (Author/JM)

Critical examination of the Teachers' Guide and Guide to Experiments and Questions Book in O-level Nuffield physics course reveals there may be disadvantages to the current organization when analyzed with psychological considerations. (PS)

Since the 1950's there has been a tremendous shift in the way language and language behavior is viewed. The shift is characterized as a general movement away from surface observation and analysis to attempts at the description and analysis of underlying linguistic forms. The interest in underlying linguistic forms has, in a rather natural way, led…

Two influential theories of intellectual development are reviewed and analyzed: the psychometric framework, based on the factorial composition of intelligence, and the Piagetian model, based on assimilation and accomodation through four stages of intellectual development. A third concept is the componential theory of intelligence, based on…

Studies in intellectual development, brain organization, and learning are summarized. They show that neither intelligence nor giftedness are solely the result of cognitive functions. Both rely on the use of the total brain in an appropriate environment. Intelligence is dynamic. It must be used and developed or it will be lost. (PS)

Part III of a 3-part report. See also AA 501 768, AA 501 769, and AA 501 771, and AA 501 772.

Two studies examined modifiability in intellectual functioning in older adults. The fluid-crystallized theory provided a theory base for the research. (Fluid intelligence follows a normative decline through adulthood, while crystallized intelligence remains stable or even increases.) In the first study thirty subjects (average age 69.2)…

Little has been researched about the professional artist's preferred style of thinking, his/her manner of acquiring and utilizing knowledge, and how it affects the learning process. This investigation used a revised method of naturalistic inquiry for the purpose of developing a research method that was responsive to the uniqueness of artistic…

The few studies concentrating on adult age changes in discrimination shift behavior have reported that the performance of elderly adults on such tasks is inferior to that of younger adults and, in fact, similar to that of children. To determine whether verbal labeling, which has facilitated the performance of young children, would also reduce age…

Psychologist Howard Gardner argues that schools fail because they do not confront often flawed childhood theories about the world that students bring to the classroom. He claims teachers must acknowledge, challenge, and build on such assumptions so students can internalize lessons taught in school and apply them outside the classroom. (SM)