In order to investigate the effect of reinforcement on learning, 21 disadvantaged black children, 4 to 5 years of age, were divided among three treatment groups. Group I children received only feedback (information) as to the correctness or incorrectness of their responses. Group II children received a raisin for each correct response, and group…

In a discussion of human institutions and modes of conduct, a basic analytical shift from absolutism to relativism is noted. From this frame of reference the conceptual changes in mathematics, the sciences, and esthetics are reviewed. The paper also discusses the implications of this change for the psychology of human thinking and for children's…

The objectives of this study were to identify specific performance demands of choral literature written by contemporary American composers, to relate these demands to the skills and knowledge required to learn this music, and to formulate teaching procedures that lead to successful performance. The compositions used, William Schuman's "The…

This yearbook is the final report of the National Council Committee on Arithmetic. Having endorsed the "meaning theory" of arithmetic instruction, an attempt is made to develop a position that might serve as a basis for improvement of the arithmetic program. After a chapter on the function of subject matter in relation to personality and one on…

This experiment tested conjectures concerning the effects of learners' attending preferences on the establishment of auditory-visual intersensory associations in a bisensory paired associate task. Attending patterns were identified through the use of a bisensory diget-span task. On the basis of fifth and sixth grade subjects' performance during…

The effects of Piagetian curricular elements added to a traditional Head Start program were investigated to determine if such elements helped to develop classification, seriation, and conservation. Two Head Start classes of 23 and of 19 children were used in the study. Student skills were assessed through a pretest and posttest using classical…

If American schools are to be held accountable for pupil achievement, a reliable means of determining the difference between a child's actual achievement and his learning potential must be found. This study examines the utilization of composite measures of a pupil's base level of performance as effective predictors of learning expectancy. In…

In this paper the affective domain entails provision for the growth of attitudes and behaviors that deal with feelings, emotions, values, and in general the personal concerns of students. Its place in curriculum can emerge from an exploration of the following questions: To what extent can we identify and describe a distinct affective curriculum?…

This project was concerned with the topic of elaborative activity and learning efficiency. "Elaboration" is regarded as an hypothetical process, internal to the learner, which consists of conceiving an event that can serve as a common semantic referent for elements that are initially disparate. The objective of the project was to examine…

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…

Sperry (1961) and others working on split brain learning reported that the two halves function in a nearly identical manner, giving excellent controlled replication of a learning problem. The present experiments were carried out with cats trained in a tactile discrimination apparatus, sometimes being forced to use the left paw, and sometimes being…

Although educational research has produced an abundance of useful findings, the quality of education has improved but very little. In spite of an ever-increasing financial outlay at all governmental levels, schools are falling short of expectations of those who must use the products of public education. The answer to, "Why can't the schools…

This first interim report of project Canada West, initiated in April, 1970, includes three papers. "Curriculum Development in Urbanization," by Dr. R. H. Sabey, Acting Executive Director, is an overview of the Project's history, purpose, and the 5 year plan for phases of research development. (See SO 000 283 for complete abstract.) Two…

This is the author's personal document in which he tries to simply see what learning is about. He draws heavily on Fritz Heider for his phenomenological analysis, by which he means an analysis of learning based solidly and integrally on what can be simply seen by all men. The paper distinguishes a learning process found in the developing child,…

In two separate paired-associate learning experiments each employing 40 university students as subjects, the contribution of individual differences (IDs) in arousal to short- and long-term retention was investigated using IDs in salivary response to lemon juice stimulation as an index of arousal. Experimental subjects were pre-selected out of 184…