The study compared the performance of 30 blind Chinese children in Taiwan, 34 blind Indian children, and 40 sighted Chinese children on 8 conservation tasks. Although both groups of blind children performed considerably poorer than sighted children, those blind children with considerable experience handling tangible materials performed better than…

This study examined elbow angle during a fine motor task (threading a needle), in the context of positions used in preclinical training exercises and assumed by practitioners performing dental procedures. The 101 subjects tended to choose an obtuse angle (mean of 125 degrees) and to vary this angle only slightly in repeated trials. (DB)

Compared mothers' play with infants with Down syndrome (DSC) and typically developing children (TDC) matched for mental or chronological age. Found that TDC mothers exhibited more object demonstrations with their developmentally younger children, who showed less object play. DSC mothers were more directive and supportive than mothers of younger…

Compared the impact of a small box emitting sounds in response to nearby motion introduced into an infant/toddler and a preschool classroom to illustrate qualitative differences in how children of different ages recognize the same objects as mediating devices for activity. Found that the box became a social object for infants/toddlers and part of…

The experiments examined qualitative and quantitative changes in the dynamics of learning a novel motor skill (roller ball task) as a function of the manipulation of a control parameter (initial ball speed). The focus was on the relation between the rates of change in performance over practice time and the changing time scales of the evolving…

This study examined the role of perceptions of task difficulty in relation to self-perceptions of ability, intrinsic value, attainment value, and performance. Seventy-nine 8th graders completed surveys prior to task instruction and after the last practice session. Two days later, they completed a skill test. Participants who perceived the Lunastix…

For this study of the influence of the diameter of implements on children's drawing products, performances, and preferences, toddlers and preschoolers were observed while they drew with primary (larger-sized) and standard markers, pencils, and crayons. The relationship between drawing and early home manipulative experience was also investigated. A…

This resource package has been designed to assist the instructor in using modern rhythmic gymnastics (MRG) to support the objectives cited in the "K-12 Physical Education Curriculum Guide," developed by the Manitoba Department of Education. MRG is based on scientific principles of movement, and makes use of small, hand-held apparatus…

Discussed are results of studies of the cognitive development of 2- and 3-year-old children which suggest that the mind makes gains in the ability to think as gains in language development are made. "Thinking" in this context refers to the judgments children made as they selected objects and maneuvered them into one arrangement or…

This experiment investigates the relation of a free play experience to subsequent performance on problem solving tasks among children aged 4 to 10. Ninety children were divided into 3 age groups and were assigned in pairs of free play and non-play treatment conditions. Children were paired by block design test scores to control for perceptual…

The extent to which free play versus sequenced questioning conditions facilitates preschoolers' associative fluency was investigated in this study. Twenty-four children (12 boys and 12 girls, with a mean age of 50.7 months) were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: free play, sequenced questioning, and control. In the sequenced…

The purpose of this study was to determine whether motor activity, previously assumed necessary to induce visual imagery in young children's associative learning, actually has to be executed in order for children to generate images. The results of an experiment with 96 kindergartners clearly suggest not: in conditions where subjects simply planned…

The distribution of intermanual discrepancies on three motor tests (Grooved Pegboard, Finger Tapping and Dynamometer) were examined in normal and unilateral brain lesion samples. Considerable variability in the intermanual discrepancies was observed in all three samples. Therefore, the consistency of discrepancies across tasks was examined. The…

Research on object exploration by infants addresses milestones in the process by normally developing infants, including spontaneous manipulation strategies. Implications for developmentalists working with high-risk preterm infants are noted, including the need for direct assistance in manipulation and for selection of materials. (CL)

Describes a two-year college-level program in air traffic control. (GR)