Reported is a study using tasks described by Piaget and Inhelder to evaluate changes in reasoning ability. The tasks were to evaluate the development of interpropositional logic, i.e., formal operations. The tasks used were validated using a formal operational population. They were administered at the beginning and end of the school year to…

This study investigated: (1) the level of thinking of the Iteso Primary School children in Uganda; and (2) whether abilities involved in the Piagetian tasks of conservation, classification, and seriation develop at the same rate. The subjects, ages 6 to 13 (the period of the 7-year African primary school) were interviewed in their own language and…

A dialogue between Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky is described and analyzed. Practical implications of the theoretical discussions between the psychologists are pointed out for parents, teachers, and other professionals who deal with children. Essential points of agreement for Piaget and Vygotsky concern the crucial role played by consciousness in…

The report presents results of the evaluation of the Effingham Program for the Improvement of Pre-College English, an advanced course in pre-college rhetoric offered to gifted students in several classes over a period of several years. The project attempted to improve both intellectual content and methods of instruction for gifted students in the…

Mental ages for normals' and for retardates' achievement on 21 Piagetian measures of reasoning are presented in this exploratory longitudinal study. Before standardization data can be provided, a study which involves a more extended sample is necessary. It is, however, suggested that: (1) Normals' (IQ 90-110) transition from concrete to formal…

The three papers presented in this publication examines in depth the thought and practices that currently prevail in the specialized areas of reading and concept attainment. Two of the papers deal with concept learning and the transformation of this knowledge into instructional guidelines. The third paper considers the importance of concept…

Examined were the effects of memory and inference questions on learning in 90 educable mentally retarded children (aged 9 to 13 years) who were read a short story, each section of which was preceded or followed by a training question which cued relevant information. Results indicated that those questions which followed the presentation of sections…

The author contends that man as a receiver of information is largely manipulated by the information sources. He proposes a system of substantive rhetoric, whereby we could perceive how past assumptive reasoning processes have allowed us to be manipulated and how these processes have originated outside rather than within ourselves. The author…

A STUDENT VERSION OF A RHETORIC CURRICULUM GUIDE WAS DEVELOPED WHICH CONTAINED THREE DISTINCT UNITS. THE FIRST DEALT WITH PRINCIPLES OF GENERALIZATION AND SUPPORT, THE SECOND WITH METAPHOR AND ANALOGY, AND THE THIRD WITH SEMANTICS. LESSONS DEALING WITH PROSE MODELS CONTAINED INTRODUCTIONS, STUDY QUESTIONS, EXERCISES FOR STUDY, AND WRITING…

A TEACHER VERSION OF A RHETORIC CURRICULUM GUIDE WAS DEVELOPED CONTAINING THREE DISTINCT UNITS. THE FIRST DEALT WITH PRINCIPLES OF GENERALIZATION AND SUPPORT, THE SECOND WITH METAPHOR AND ANALOGY, AND THE THIRD WITH SEMANTICS. DETAILED DISCUSSIONS ACCOMPANIED THESE ASPECTS OF RHETORIC. SUGGESTIONS WERE PRESENTED FOR DISCUSSIONS, EXERCISES, AND…

A STUDENT VERSION OF A CURRICULUM GUIDE ON RHETORICAL REASONING PROCESSES WAS DEVELOPED. TWO UNITS INVOLVING DEDUCTION AND PLAUSIBILITY WERE INCLUDED. LESSONS INVOLVING ASSUMPTIONS, PATTERNS OF DEDUCTIVE THINKING, FACTS, AND VALUE JUDGMENTS WERE INCLUDED IN THE UNIT ON DEDUCTION. THE UNIT ON PLAUSIBILITY GAVE THE STUDENT THE OPPORTUNITY TO TRY HIS…

A TEACHER VERSION OF A CURRICULUM GUIDE ON RHETORICAL REASONING PROCESSES WAS DEVELOPED. THE GUIDE INCLUDED TWO UNITS INVOLVING DEDUCTION AND PLAUSIBILITY. DETAILED LESSONS AND EXERCISES DEALING WITH ASSUMPTIONS, PATTERNS OF DEDUCTIVE THINKING, FACTS, AND VALUE JUDGMENTS WERE INCLUDED IN THE UNIT ON DEDUCTION. IN THE UNIT ON PLAUSIBILITY, DETAILED…

This paper outlines the syntactic structures which represent a stage in the cognitive development of children, and focusses on an aspect of cognitive development known as conservation. The cognitive components of conservation are presented as the primordial base for the set of syntactic structures which map or mirror them. Piaget proposed four…

Language arts games are described that combine mathematical experiences and language development.

Successful fantasies may either force us to look freshly at everyday things or expand our capacity to believe.