Metacognition and self-regulated learning (SLR) have been advocated by many and have significant support being seen as a potentially effective and low cost way of impacting learning. Fundamentally, the underlying supposition is that metacognition and SRL are important to learning, and thus raise attainment, and various studies have established…

The purpose is to discuss two competing theories of learning in preschool based on preschool teachers' views of knowledge and learning. The focus is mathematical learning but the discussion is applicable to all early childhood learning contexts. Preschool teachers' views on children's learning and development is important for the pedagogy they use…

Psychological science has much to contribute to enhancing teaching and learning in the classroom. Teaching and learning, in turn, are intricately linked to social and behavioral factors of human development, including cognition, motivation, social interaction, and communication. Psychological science also contributes to effective instruction;…

Investigation of the learning process has led to many theories and some systematic knowledge. The question of how to design instruction to promote effective learning and the subsidiary question of the behavioral controls involved are examined in the light of known facts about the major categories of learned capabilities. (Author/TS)

Presents exploratory activities for preschool children as they seek to become acquainted with the world about them. Some of the ways in which these experiences involve science concepts are discussed. (Author/EB)

The purpose of this project was to develop new information and analyses that would contribute to development of a systematic understanding of cognitive structure, including its acquisition and utilization during problem solving. Experimental and theoretical work was done on three specific problems. (1) Studies of individual differences and effects…

The purposes of this study were: (1) to evaluate the effectiveness of audio-tutorial (A-T) instruction and (2) to identify, classify and study differences in problem solving approach using a theoretical framework derived from the ideas of D. P. Ausubel. Seventy of 420 students taking a college introductory non-calculus physics course used A-T…

Investigates several key statements from Piaget's cognitive psychology and their meaning for science education. Concludes that teaching must be conducted as reversibly as possible so that when the teacher presents his own assimilation schemata it will be equilibrated by the pupils' schemata. (GA)

This study investigated the extent to which certain aspects of the structure of a learner's memory following instruction corresponded with the structure of the instructional material. Content structure was represented using digraph theory. The digraph analysis revealed a formal structure built substantially on six specific concepts. Cognitive…

This study investigates relationships between differences in students' achievement and differences obtained by a technique held to yield a reasonably valid representation of students' memory structures of a particular subject matter. Also investigated was the nature of the flow of information between curriculum materials, teachers, and students.…

Examines the effect of relevant group instruction on various children's developmental stages regarding the conception of space. (Author/GA)

Sixty-one Japanese kindergarten children were pretested on their concept of speed; approximately half of the children (experimental group) were then given a demonstration of visual speed, and the entire group was posttested. Concludes that the experimental group could acquire the concept of speed significantly better than the control group. (MLH)

The paper presented relates to a study done examining the ability of children from grades one through six to locate a point in one, two, and three dimensions and to order a temporal series of events in one, two, and three dimensions. The performance of the subjects was also used to examine a small part of Piaget's theory of cognitive development.…

Reported is a study based on the summary findings of a series of studies which indicated that many children who receive organized instruction designed around the few major concepts of science do, in fact, use scientific models to explain their observations of natural phenomena. The instruction that children in the study received was delivered by…

Educators can improve children's thinking skills through the following five steps: (1) identifying and defining the desirable thinking skills, (2) identifying the components of these skills, (3) providing systematic skills instruction, (4) integrating the teaching of thinking skills with various content areas, and (5) improving skills testing.…