Reported is a study related to diagnosing elements of propositional thinking in the cognitive functioning of 62 sixth- and seventh-grade students. The rationale is based on the work of Piaget and others. Instruments used to diagnose levels of abstract thinking involved using computer simulated experiments (CSE). The direct and indirect effects of…

This study was designed to explore one method of intervening in the process of a conventional academic classroom to affect student attitude and improve the learning climate. Two college freshman composition classes of 22 students each provided the subjects for the study. Each class was taught by the same instructor for three hours a week; one…

The present study was designed to determine whether conservation of number, weight, volume, area, and mass could be learned and retained by disadvantaged preschool children when taught by an inexperienced classroom teacher. An instructional sequence of 10-minute lessons was presented on alternate days over a 3 1/2 week period by preservice…

In this progress report of an interdisciplinary consortium effort, Project 2, Literature Search in Reading, funded by USOE's Targeted Research and Development Program in Reading, the author summarizes the project objectives, milestones, and strategies used to accomplish these milestones. The objectives as reported are (1) to identify and evaluate…

New social studies curricula and methods need to be adapted to fundamental aims of education -- the stimulation of cognitive and moral development. Educational implications of Piaget's work in cognitive stage development and the author's work in moral stage development are based upon the cognitive developmental transition of John Dewey, who…

When the task of evaluating student learning is carefully considered, two major problems emerge. One is the gathering of the most appropriate and precise evidence possible about the learning. The other is the setting of performance standards against which this evidence may be weighed and the adequacy of each student's learning judged. This paper…

Five studies investigated the interaction between language acquisition abilities and environmental factors. Subjects aged 5 to 20 imitated synthetic speech stimuli representing English and novel categories. All except the 5-year olds imitated better than was predicted from studies of categorical perception. The 12-year olds performed optimally.…

The general needs assessment instrument can provide the means for a school district to assess its needs relative to the Ten Goals of Quality Education. It is comprised of 63 area behavior statements taken from the category schemes. The student must check the appropriate number for each statement representing "always" through…

This study represents one principal's effort to develop a school climate of teaching and learning to improve academic achievement for students at Intermediate School 158, Bronx, New York. In this program the staff was encouraged to create a diversity of learning environments related to the learning styles of pre-adolescent inner-city youth.…

A research project was conducted to develop and evaluate learning products that will assist exceptional children in learning specific skills. To investigate the learning processes of exceptional children, data was gathered from site visits, interviews, observations, relevant literature, copies of curriculum and evaluation forms for exceptional…

This study attempts to determine if individual differences in multitask performance are due in part to the cognitive competence (i.e., the consistent, rule-based strategy) the subject brings to the task. A battery of learning (discrimination shift, transposition, incidental learning and paired-associate learning), cognitive-developmental…

This study investigated the influence of differences in ambiguity tolerance and the effects of exposure to a videotape model on the interview behavior of counselor trainees. The potential of creating a variety of learning strategies, such as video modeling, to override the detrimental effects of certain personality characteristics is discussed.…

Through the application of psychological and moral development principles to teacher education curricula, the author constructed a series of active learning experiences followed by structured reflection on those experiences. Major elements included teaching counseling skills directly to preservice teachers. Prepared for the Chicago, 1975 American…

This is a report on the work of the California Commission for Teacher Preparation on the Beginning Teacher Evaluation Study (BTES), to determine which skills and qualities are necessary for the beginning teacher to impart learning effectively in the classroom. (JD)

This paper argues that both behavioral and non-behavioral objectives are valuable and necessary in curriculum design, and that the long-range goals define the kind of statements required. Both are appropriate under different conditions. (Author/BP)