Learning progressions have become increasingly prevalent in mathematics education as they offer a fine-grain map of possible learning pathways a child may take within a particular domain. However, there is an opportunity to build upon this research in ways that consider learning from multiple perspectives. Many current forms of learning…

This article is based on a study of what contributes to the development of an aesthetic approach to supervision that might be identified in a choreographer's supervision of artists in a co-creative artistic production process. The theoretical framework consists of multimodal learning theory with a focus on semiotic mediation inspired by Jewitt,…

Imagine an active happily engaged, communicative, curious group of four-year-old children investigating and discovering as they play together in an early childhood classroom. Imagine yet again, the teacher beckoning them to gather on the rug to listen to a story. What happens next? Are the children allowed to continue in this curiosity-seeking,…

Examines how children's beliefs about word meanings may affect their use of contrastive linguistic information in the input of word learning. Two separate studies are discussed that involve how three- and four-year-old children handled new word meanings after exposure to novel terms. (58 references) (GLR)

Demonstrates that connectionist models described in "Rethinking Innateness" (Elman, et al., 1996) depend on innately assumed representations and do not offer a genuine alternative to nativism. Presents simulation results showing that the models are incapable of deriving genuine abstract representations that are not presupposed. Maintains…

Paper shows that Wittgenstein, in discussing ostensive definition, understanding, and the private language argument, attacks Saint Augustine's notion of learning. Recently, the Augustinian conception has been resurrected in cognitive theories postulating an innate language of thought, making Wittgenstein's claims that this conception of learning…

Three types of processes occur in language learning, each intricately connected with the others. Social processes are the steps by which learners and target language speakers create a social situation in which target language communication is possible and desired. Linguistic processes are the ways in which assumptions held by target language…

Discussion of developing children's awareness of their own learning focuses on a study of preschool children ages five-seven in Sweden. Metacognitive skills and phenomenography are discussed, interviews with the students are described, and treatments for the experimental and control groups are explained. (16 references) (LRW)

Discusses hypotheses suggested for consideration by those black educators and parents who are involved in the educational process with the black child; these hypotheses are based on extensive clinical investigation and research. It is contended that black independent schools are facing the same complex problem that has plagued Western…

Research on the grammatical cues that guide comprehension of a language and that children are most sensitive to, particularly in Hebrew, is reviewed as an introduction to the first phase of a study conducted with 20 native Hebrew-speaking children aged 4 to 9 in southern California and a group of adults to provide comparative data. The study…

In its broadest sense, metalinguistic awareness refers to the study of or reflection upon language as an object--the form and structure of language rather than the content, the way in which the form expresses or relates to the message. One value of research on metalinguistic awareness lies in its potential for testing adult notions about the ways…

Differentiates traditional education, progressive education, constructivism, and the Montessori approach. Examines the role of motivation in constructivism and in Montessori's planes of development. Concludes that Montessorians and constructivists are allies in the struggle to liberate children from conventional educational methods, which blunt…

The purpose of this book is to consider early literacy education and whole language from the perspective of constructivist theory (which states that human beings acquire knowledge by building it from the inside in interaction with the environment) and research. More specifically, the book intends to show that the whole language movement is part of…

The process of learning to play a musical instrument involves hours of individual practice. Even for players who do not reach high levels of competence, a considerable amount of time will be spent in working independently of the teacher, meaning that music learning demands a high level of self-sufficiency and the ability to be self-reflective if…

SINCE SYMBOLS ARE SEEN AS REPRESENTATIVES OF THINGS, ACTION, RELATIONSHIPS, AND FEELINGS, YOUNG CHILDREN NEED TO LEARN TO PROCESS SYMBOLS. THE QUALITY OF A CHILD'S EDUCATION IN MANAGING AND UTILIZING SYMBOLS WILL AFFECT HIS ABILITY TO WORK, LOVE, AND GROW. SOME MAJOR IDEAS IN OUR CONCEPTUALIZATIONS OF MAN AND HIS DEVELOPMENT HAVE BEEN UPROOTED IN…