Most art programs at the secondary level and beyond hope to produce students who can make discriminating aesthetic judgments about many kinds of visual art forms. This paper describes how students judge the art they encounter and suggests how art teachers might improve the quality of their students' responses. (Author/IS)

A number of studies conducted during the last decade have found that students' achievement increases when teaching methods match their learning styles--biological and developmental characteristics that affect how they learn. Correlational studies and experimental research studies are reviewed on instructional environments, perceptual preferences,…

Examined infants' tendency, from a few days to nine months of age, to prefer infant-directed over adult-directed speech. Results suggest that exaggerated pitch contours that characterize infant-directed speech may become salient communicative signals for infants through language-rich, interactive experiences with caretakers and increased…

Maintains that, although the relation of the mind to the brain is a common topic in teaching psychology; psychogeny, the study of the mind's origin, is a neglected problem. Outlines and discusses two theories: (1) identify theory; and (2) emergentism. Presents student reactions to psychogeny. (CFR)

Reviews five books: (1) "Modularity and Constraints in Language and Cognition" (Gunnar and Maratsos); (2) "Beyond Modularity: A Developmental Perspective on Cognitive Science" (Karmiloff-Smith"; (3) "The Self-System: Developmental Changes between and within Self-Concepts" (Oosterwegel and Oppenheimer); (4)…

Because the absence of spatial activities in contemporary textbooks seemingly relegates visual imagery to a nonessential status, this discussion highlights the indispensable role of visual imagery within applied school mathematics learning activities. Included are examples of when imagery is used within students' daily applications and suggestions…

Discusses approaches to the problem presented in understanding consciousness as a yet undiscovered process of interacting neuron activity. Presents the historical context of research in the area of human awareness and identifies research necessary to scientifically explain how the brain relates to the mind. (MCO)

Two studies investigated children's understanding that biases may influence the interpretation of behavior. In the first experiment, most second graders inferred that a negatively biased, uninformed observer would construe an act as intentional. In the second, kindergartners and second graders appropriately used bias and knowledge information to…

Tested understanding of correspondence on the part of 2.5- to 3.5-year olds who watched a toy hidden in a model and tried to find an analogous toy in a room. Retrieval scores increased with increasing model-room similarity; were higher for older than younger children; and were affected by object and size similarity. (BC)

Examines perceptions of adults compared with preschool children in assuming object permanence or discontinuity of existence when an object is removed from their immediate perceptual field. Results showed that a belief in the possibility of the discontinuity of material objects is not unique to the minds of preschool children but can also be…

A study used the Three-Interval Forced-Choice Test of Speech Pattern Contrast Perception (THRIFT) to examine sensory-level speech-perception performance under the input modalities of hearing alone, speech-reading alone, and the two combined in 44 children (ages 5-10). Within each condition there were significant influences of age on performance…

Three experiments assessed the intersensory redundancy hypothesis in early infancy. Findings indicated that habituation to a bimodal rhythm resulted in discrimination of a novel rhythm, whereas habituation to the same rhythm presented unimodally resulted in no evidence of discrimination. Temporal synchrony between the bimodal auditory and visual…

This study evaluated the effects of perceptual training and psychological counseling on adjustment to vision loss in 49 elderly persons (mean age 70) with low vision. Overall, both interventions improved the participants' visual functioning and beliefs about the loss of vision, and follow-up interviews revealed that these improvements were…

A five-step model intervention called "Sensational Thinking," which incorporates readiness, reception, reflection, revelation, and re-creation activities, was evaluated with four kindergarten classes. Experimental groups showed increased creativity over control groups in solving paradoxical problems. The study is seen as supporting the premise…

Investigated suppression of activation and retrieval paths to information stored in long-term memory. Subjects were 94 children in grades 1, 3, and 5. Found that the ability to intentionally inhibit the maintenance and recall of irrelevant information improves over the elementary years, and children are less able than adults to withhold production…