Points out agreement that the concepts a child acquires are variants of those exemplified by the cultures in which they grow up. Suggests, however, that learners interpret these cultural practices in terms of models causally determined by their cognitive or representational capacities and by the stock of concepts currently available. (AA)

Education should help students with their intellectual as well as emotional growth. The counseling center at Harvard University, called the Bureau of Study Counsel, assumes that students' dilemmas are not simply academic. Generally, there are three kinds of services at the Harvard Bureau of Study Counsel: didactic-cognitive techniques; group…

The formal development of critical thinking is discussed, and guidance is provided to help faculty insure that critical thinking becomes an integral part of learning. Theory, research, teaching practice, and college programs pertinent to the development and role of critical thinking are presented in order to show how educators have shaped…

In this study, preferences for activities with people vs. objects were examined in preschool children and related to two kinds of intellectual abilities. Children with high object orientation were expected to be relatively advanced in organizing and classifying physical objects. In contrast, children with high people orientation were expected to…

Sample populations from 15 Intermountain West communities (representative of population, ethnic, and employment variety) were surveyed to test the following hypotheses: (1) there is a greater degree of consensus in rural than in non-rural communities; (2) there are differences between values in rural and non-rural communities; (3) a model…

Discussion at the Wingspread Conference on the New American College (August 1994) concerning a new model of educational excellence in higher education is summarized. The model emphasizes the need to connect general education with specialized education, theoretical learning with practical learning, and development of intellectual skills with…

Studied diversity in high-level competence with 122 students identified as academically gifted, in grades 6-8. Results, which contradicted linear, single-scale models of intelligence, supported a three-factor solution: linguistic, logical-mathematical, and social. Specialization and generalization developed in tension with each other, yielding…

Examines two different types of human motivation, pragmatic and nonpragmatic. Experimental studies in preschool-age children in both the former Soviet Union and Western cultures are presented. Suggests that the two contrasting conceptions of human motivation lead to totally different practical strategies for transforming human motivation in…

This paper presents examples from 10 internal consultancies provided by the author within the Open University (United Kingdom) that reveal how teams develop and are integrated into the systems of a complex institution. These consultancies included: providing consulting services to a course team; counseling with a course team chair; serving as a…

This book describes the Reflective Judgment Model (RJM) and provides a comprehensive review of the research on it and the Reflective Judgment Interview (RJI). Chapter 1 defines reflective judgment as an often neglected aspect of critical thinking. Chapter 2 discusses stage-related assumptions that underlie RJM and relates RJM to current work in…

Current theories of intellectual development claim that such development proceeds through invariant sequences of increasingly more adequate cognitive structures. According to the two dominant theories on changes in intellectual functioning during adulthood, intellectual development is essentially accomplished by adolescence, although sharpening…

This paper reviews theoretical writings on the importance and function of imaginative play in the development of young children, and describes measurement instruments and instructional aids used for imaginative play in home and school settings. A historical summary of the function of play in the young child's life is presented. Early theories saw…

Four models are discussed with which to view students, educational goals, and learning environments. Each of the four theories emphasizes a unique aspect of the total development process. Piaget's model describes the development of structures and processes which characterize mature logical thinking. Perry provides a closer look at students'…

Recent studies on schema theory and other concepts related to reading comprehension are discussed in this paper. Noting that the psycholinguistic model of reading views reading as a process of predicting meaning based on the reader's prior knowledge of language, the paper describes recent research that has led to a definition of reading…

The applicability of Tinto's model of retention for first-year students attending church-related colleges and universities is examined. Data collected from entering freshmen at two Midwestern Seventh-day Adventist colleges were used to replicate studies of Tinto's model done in other settings. Based on Tinto's model, indicators of academic and…