There is an assumption in most freshman composition classes that students have the cognitive level to be sensitive and receptive to problematic situations, to articulate the problems, and to formulate statements to set out lines of inquiry. This assumption is invalid when applied to the majority of students, and writing teachers can attest to…

Research conducted at the Institute of General and Pedagogical Psychology of Moscow, and based on the premise that the development of thought processes is a direct product of the social environment, is described. As a corollary to this premise, Piaget's view that the development of the thinking process occurs in orderly fashion is questioned.…

This paper discusses Piagetian theory on children's cognitive development and its relevance to an early childhood science program. Children, at different stages of their development, exhibit characteristics of behavior or of thinking which may or may not affect how and what they learn in the classroom. It is suggested that subject-matter content,…

Educational accountability, as linked to changing socioeconomic attitudes and conditions, is noted to have contributed to the decline of the audiolingual method of language instruction. Following a discussion of the pedagogical implications and inadequacies of audiolingual theory, the author analyzes the nature of this teaching methodology, first…

This guide for teacher K-12 is an outgrowth of an earlier guide for the teaching of social studies in Wisconsin schools. The new guide re-emphasizes the teaching of social knowledge and skills and devotes approximately one half of its length to the teaching of values, a subject neglected in the earlier guide. In the first two sections dealing with…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of a series of self-instructional modules (SIMs) for training secondary-level social studies teacher-trainees to develop and ask higher-level questions. Forty subjects enrolled for social studies methods courses were blocked on pre-test scores and randomly assigned to treatment groups.…

The effects of a visual motor training program that attempts to teach 5-year-olds the underlying cognitive structures used in copying geometric designs are assessed. The Design Board Program teaches the child a systematic method for analyzing complex two-dimensional graphic patterns. It is based on the theory that accurate replication of geometric…

Three classroom organizational schemes for presenting technical information in industrial arts were compared: (1) individual achievement in a small group setting with no teacher interaction, (2) group achievement in a small group setting with no teacher interaction, and (3) individual achievement in an entire class with no teacher interaction. The…

Most Russian courses suffer from an inadequate approach to the presentation of syntax even though continued emphasis on syntax from the beginning would help to remove the trial and error syndrome inherent in purely audiolingual methods and would channel the student's efforts to internalize and make automatic his answers in a relevant context, thus…

To test whether training in logical multiplication would improve the reading skills of "retarded readers" (children with specific language disability, minimal brain damage, dyslexia, psycho-neurological learning disability, or perceptual handicaps), this study (1) elaborated a theoretical approach to reading based on Piaget's theory of cognitive…

Schools and educators are being called to task so that students will be able to achieve academically and gain basic skills. While few people argue with the need for gradual, reasonable, and proven changes in curricula, the massive infusion of innovative curricula and teaching methods often intended to maximize affective learning may have had a…

Discusses the value of studying errors made by students in the process of learning science. Addresses 20 research questions dealing with student learning errors. Attempts to characterize errors made by students and clarify some terms used in error research. (TW)

Echoes the recommendation in "An Agenda for Excellence at the Middle Level" that junior high schools and middle schools recognize and accommodate their socially, physically, and mentally diverse populations. (SRT)

One mathematics lesson was planned by two Grade 2 teachers together. Their separate teaching of it was videotaped, and each teacher was interviewed before and after her lesson. The "same" lesson resulted in different sets of worthwhile learning outcomes. In this research report, the notion of situated cognition is used as a tool for analysis of…

This paper explains how oral competence in foreign languages is developed by applying constructivist pedagogic methodology to the four language skills of speaking, listening, reading, and writing. Foreign language constructivist methodology departs from the information processing model and behaviorist teaching that guide the transmission of…