Two parallel and complementary studies of Language Modelling and its relation to the development of communicative competence in the young child are reported. Over a 6-month period, Study 1 involved weekly naturalistic observations (in the home) of the nature and quality of the linguistic stimulation offered by mothers to their children between 2…

The text of an invited address on artificial intelligence (AI) research over the 1963-1968 period is presented. A survey of recent studies on the computer simulation of intellective processes emphasizes developments in heuristic programing, problem-solving and closely related learning models. Progress and problems in these areas are indicated by…

A series of discussions are reported concerning the applicability of Piaget's ideas to special education. They are contrasted and compared with other approaches to educating the exceptional child ranging from behavioral modification to the Montessori classroom. Participants included Joachim F. Wohlwill, Francis P. Connor, Donald S. Baer, Thomas J.…

A great deal of research has been done on instructional strategies and concepts of individualized instruction in computer-assisted instruction (CAI). Individualizing instruction within CAI can be defined in terms of an input output process which includes a stimulus array, cognitive processes, and response requirements. Research in these areas of…

This project focuses on (a) the empirical findings regarding achievement, cognitive, motivational, and behavioral similarities and differences between the culturally disadvantaged and the more advantaged with learning disabilities, before and after remediation, as well as the changes which accrued from the remedial programs, and (b) discussion of…

The study investigated the effects of reading level and stimulus presentation mode on the associative clustering and recall performance of mentally retarded adolescents. The subjects were administered a randomized list of twenty words from four conceptual categories. For each of four trials, these words were presented via the auditory, visual or…

The effect of cognitive style and learning conditions on the rote verbal learning performance of Mexican American subjects classified as field independent or field dependent was investigated. Field dependent referred to a strong perceptual influence caused by the context or background while field independent referred to an ability to overcome the…

This paper presents a study using a neo-Piagetian theory to analyze the micro-structure underlying Piaget's "control of variables" scheme. Data are presented which support the conclusion that young children are capable of acquiring and utilizing this scheme before they acquire Conservation of Weight, that is, providing (1) that the…

The study reported here was an attempt to systematically manipulate certain factors which might be responsible for the poor communicational performance of lower socioeconomic status children. The major questions raised were: Can differences in task difficulty, perceptual characteristics of the task, and task instructions attenuate or eliminate…

This paper reviews two major advances in preschool evaluation strategy that developed as a result of trying to evaluate Head Start, and proposes another evaluation approach. The first advance in evaluation procedure was to conceive educational objectives in terms of processes rather than products; that is, there was a shift from achievement tests…

This study compared the creative self-direction, creative behavior, and creative activities of preschool children to determine if students and teachers trained in the creative process and in observation techniques can, with reliability, observe the creative potential of young children. Creative abilities of 155 children from four preschool centers…

The effects of conservation activities on children's acquisition of Piaget's conservation concepts were investigated. One hundred and twenty-eight seven-to nine-year-old children in four classrooms were given pre- and post-evaluation measures of conservation ability. The experimental group completed a set of 42 self-directed conservation…

The author finds Katz and Postal's 1964 generative semantic theories concerning the organization of grammar incorrect and proposes an interpretive approach to semantics in which syntactic structures are given interpretations by an autonomous semantic component. The research reported leads the author to describe a generative grammar consisting of…

The articles in this issue focus upon the implications of new research and trends in the psychology of the reading process, reading interests of children, the developmental values of reading, content analysis of children's books, adult reading studies, the adult new reader, and the implications of research for the publishing world. The articles…

The purpose of this study is to develop from naturalistic field observation data a set of concepts and hypotheses related to the teaching of thinking. The study conceptualizes and relates thought processes and instructional strategies by analyzing data collected from classrooms in which the Washington University Elementary Social Science…