The concept of probability is not an easy concept for high school and college students to understand. This paper identifies and analyzes the students' alternative frameworks from the viewpoint of constructivism. There are various interpretations of probability through mathematical history: classical, frequentist, and subjectivist interpretation.…

The Education Technology Center (ETC) Fractions Group works to investigate well-documented difficulties that children have in understanding fractions. A central assumption underlying this group's inquiry is that students' difficulties in manipulating fractions arise from their lack of understanding about the nature of fractions. In order to learn…

This paper is based on the idea that designing a knowledge representation for an intelligent physics computer tutoring system depends, in part, on the target behavior anticipated from the student. In addition, the document distinguishes between qualitative and quantitative competence in physics. These competencies are illustrated through questions…

Students (N=49) enrolled in a physics course for elementary teachers were evaluated for their abilities to use: (1) combinatorial logic; (2) separation and control of variables; (3) proportional reasoning; and (4) reciprocal implications. Performance of four Piagetian tasks during interviews was treated as a measure of the degree to which students…

A dominant theme in cognitive psychology is that prior knowledge in long-term memory has a strong influence on an individual's cognitive processing. Citing numerous memory studies with children, knowledge base effects are presented as part of a broader picture of memory development. Using the sort/recall procedure (asking subjects to group sets of…

Examines whether young children make explicit references to beliefs, ideas, thoughts, and intentions. Relates that three-year-old children correctly distinguish between real and mental items and that they think and dream about things that are not real. Concludes that conceptual development theories portraying early development as concrete and…

Examines the problem-solving strategies of experts and novices. Summarizes the overall performance of four experts and eight novices. Examines several protocols in depth in order to show how subjects introduced new terms and relationships during problem solving sessions. Compares the strategies of expert and novice problem solvers. (CW)

Reconstructs the process through which a student becomes familiar with new subject matters and unfamiliar rhetorical and linguistic conventions. Describes one writer's attempt to achieve "specialized disciplinary literacy." Suggests the writer must be able to integrate his/her knowledge of appropriate discourse conventions with a…

Considers variables which affect the acquisition of the kinetic theory of heat by children who hold alternative viewpoints. Suggests that the articulation of different viewpoints in no way hinders the acquisition of the desired conceptual framework. Emphasizes the benefit to low-reasoning students in particular. (CW)

Describes five ways that high school students explain a chemical change. Discusses the differences in conceptual understanding of the students based upon their responses to questions about simple reactions. Presents additional classifications of conceptions of chemical reactions done by other researchers. (TW)

Describes a lexical training program developed to teach object, visible movement, and invisible movement words to children at stage 5 (N=7) and stage 6 (N=16) object permanence development. Stage 6 children learned all three types of words equally well, while stage 5 children learned object and visible movement but not invisible movement words.…

Relationship between the social world and individual knowledge acquisition is explored. A general theory predicated on the assumption that social interaction is the driving force behind knowledge acquisition is postulated and then formulated as a model. A selection of results pertaining to social learning are presented. (Author/MBR)

This article considers relatively neglected resources for the "bootstrapping" of cognitive growth, including chance plus selection, the affective boosting of relevant schemas, the operation of innate biases, and use of spare mental capacity. Implications for educational research are illustrated with reference to recent work on the…

Research has revealed distinct differences in the problem-solving approaches of high- and low-aptitude students. As a consequence, content area teachers can focus on thinking skills by having students describe their mental processes and giving them feedback on erroneous or incomplete reasoning. (TE)

The language of a literate classroom is profoundly impacted by that which is included, excluded, ignorantly condoned, and perpetually presented with distortions. The article analyzes seven comprehensive frameworks: (1) diverse voices; (2) identities of the language users; (3) present and absent curriculum; (4) cognitive structures influencing…