In this study on the interactive effects of advance organizers and reasoning skills, 112 undergraduates read a literature text preceded by either a comparative advance organizer or a placebo introduction. Results suggest that instructional organizers produce neither serious loss nor substantial benefits for many purposes of communication. (BS)

In a study which required college students to learn to recognize four flexible plastic shapes photographed on different backgrounds from different angles, the importance of a context-rich environment for the learning and recognition of visual patterns was illustrated. (Author)

A framework for using and changing concepts in the study of science is described. (JD)

The ability of preverbal infants to abstract a prototypical representation of a category, when presented with examples of an artifically constructed category, was investigated. It was determined that infants could process visual information constructively and could take a more active role in category formation than previously believed. (Author/MH)

P. Lewicki and others (1988) suggested that subjects unconsciously abstract tacit knowledge about a complex pattern of events in a situation that departs from the artificial grammar learning pattern. The present experiment with 40 third year university students offers an alternative framework that does not assume unconscious rule abstraction. (SLD)

Comments on Flavell's paper (PS 522 962) presented in the same issue. Stresses some of the positive aspects of preschoolers' conception of thinking, and raises questions about the relatively negative portrait of young child's introspective abilities. Discusses evidence of introspection among preschoolers, and underlines the special, and…

Comments on Flavell's paper in this issue. Examines the paper's findings on three different aspects of children's knowledge about thinking: their ability to differentiate thinking from other activities, their awareness that thinking is always going on in people's minds, and their capacity for introspection into their own thinking. Argues that…

Discusses students' progress through distinct levels in the development of their thinking as described by van Hiele levels. Focuses on the quadrilaterals and suggests some level 3 tasks and construction problems. (ASK)

A model for processes of abstraction, based on epistemic actions, has been proposed elsewhere. Here we apply this model to processes in which groups of individual students construct shared knowledge and consolidate it. The data emphasizes the interactive flow of knowledge from one student to the others in the group, until they reach a shared…

This paper describes the methods and techniques called Conceptual Analysis (CA), a rigorous procedure to generate (without involuntary omissions and repetitions) knowledge bases for the development of knowledge-based systems. An introduction is given of CA and how it can be used to produce knowledge bases. A discussion is presented on what is…

This paper argues that if conclusions about children's grasp of logical concepts are to be reached and acceptable lines of research followed, then more precise definitions of the concept "logical necessity" must be formulated. The paper defines logical necessity as "the unconditional guarantee of truth that accompanies valid…

It was hypothesized that the acquisition of conservation behavior would be facilitated when stimuli were more concrete than abstract. Eighty white second graders were randomly assigned to four groups and presented with three conservation-of-weight problems. Clay balls and the conservation transformations were either shown, demonstrated, and…

Describes ways of projecting stereoscopic images of geologic environments for students with difficulty reasoning in three-dimensions. The photographic procedures needed to produce stereo slides are included. (MA)