Presents background information about Vygotskian theories. Describes Vygotsky's Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD). Discusses a model of attitude development that incorporates the ZPD, meta-awareness, the components of an attitude, and factors influencing attitude development. Suggests educational implications. (45 references) (MDH)

Presents an episode in which a conflict arose as sixth-grade students attempted to create nonstandard units of measurement. Discusses the conflicting requirements of language and symbol use in mathematical communication in the activity. (MKR)

To understand an individual student's learning in the complexity of the mathematics classroom, it is necessary to examine the events before, during, and after learning. To illustrate, the process by which two children each construct new mathematical meanings is examined from these perspectives. (Author/MKR)

Reexamines the studies of K. S. Dobson regarding metaanalysis of cognitive-behavioral therapy for depression using the Beck Depression Inventory as an outcome measure. Confirms Dobson's conclusions but shows that about half the difference between CT and other treatments was predictable from researcher allegiance. Comparable analysis of a later set…

Investigated the acquisition and maturation of the infinity concept in mathematics of students ages 13-15. Found the infinity concept is learned by students only when provided with appropriate guidance. (Author/MKR)

Two experiments examined whether 40 infants would reenact what an adult did or intended to do: (1) infants observed an adult unsuccessfully attempt to complete 4 target acts; and (2) children observed a mechanical device tracing the adults' actions. Infants could infer adults' intentions and imitate target acts, suggesting that children can…

Examines the ideas secondary school students associate with the word "cycles" before instruction. Draws conclusions about the integrative role of this concept in teaching and learning about environmental issues. Possibilities for making use of the concept of cycles in lower and higher secondary environmental education are discussed. (LZ)

When it comes to explaining English verbs' patterns of regular and irregular generalization, single-network theories have difficulty with the former, rule-only theories with the latter process. Linguistic and psycholinguistic evidence, based on observation during experiments and simulations in morphological pattern generation, independently call…

This paper theoretically characterizes number sense as a set of cognitive capabilities for constructing and reasoning within mental models. This perspective provides support for viewing various aspects of number sense as features of students' general condition of knowing about numbers and magnitude, rather than as skills needing specific…

Discussion of discourse created by computers defines discourse as a pattern of cognitive functioning and identifies two such modes of thought: narrative and expository. Discussion covers the computer as discourse; schemas as a way to understand how knowledge is organized; simulations, hypermedia, and databases as discourse; and interactive…

Researchers collected cognitive structure and reflection data from prospective teachers to test whether schemata and reflection, structure, and process were linked. Results indicated a positive correlation between complexity of knowledge structure and reflective ability. The way teachers organized their knowledge of classroom management affected…

Examined developmental changes and individual variations in the ways children use expressive information from others. Concluded that processing deficits are more probable for younger children or for children with low perceived control than for other children. (BB)

Describes a computer-based methodology for representing mental models as maps, extracting these maps from written and spoken texts, and analyzing and comparing concepts and structures of information within maps. Illustrates the model using data on students and teacher in an undergraduate writing class. Contains about 80 references. (Author/SV)

Proposes a model for the growth of mathematical understanding based on the consideration of understanding as a whole, dynamic, leveled but nonlinear process. Illustrates the model using the concept of fractions. How to map the growth of understanding is explained in detail. (Contains 26 references.) (MKR)

New methods for representing the structural properties of domain-specific knowledge were studied. Network representations of data from 40 college students' ratings of the relatedness of domain concepts were derived using the Pathfinder scaling algorithm, and similarity between students' and instructor's networks was then assessed using a…