Reported is a study of 1555 students, grades 4-12, regarding understanding the concept of controlling variables. Subjects were examined on a task involving spheres rolling down an incline and striking a target sphere; they were evaluated upon their explanations of answers, not their choice of answers. Findings indicated that the Piagetian stage of…

Presented are guidelines for a developmental roles approach to infant education. Developmental objectives are listed for language, cognition, socialization, independence, and movement at five levels: establishing the base, exploring the environment through actions, exploring the environment symbolically, exploring relationships, and preparing for…

This study investigates acquisition of two aspects of the meaning of color terms: semantic organization and reference. A longitudinal, repeated measure design was used, and data were collected from 33 subjects, 2 to 4 years old at first testing. Four tasks were used: one to assess semantic organization (the acquisition of the…

Investigated in this study was the relationship between an inquiry approach to science instruction and language development. Four classes of sixth-grade children from two socioeconomic groups participated in the study. The treatment consisted of 12 inquiry film sessions and six discussion sessions, each session 40 minutes in length. At the end of…

Last year, Prime Time School Television conducted a survey of teachers to determine what kinds of evening television programs would be most helpful in teaching. Those that developed values was the answer and this article considered how television programing was utilized to help students better understand moral values. (Author/RK)

Evaluates the CHEM study topics of kinetic theory of gases, phase changes, chemical bonds, and equilibrium as to the level of cognitive development required for an understanding of each subject. Advocates an assignment of topics within the range of a student's cognitive ability in an individual study format of instruction. (CP)

The ability of preschool and 8-year-old children to recall the spatial location of an event was assessed in three experiments in which familiarity, differentiation, and foreknowledge were controlled. Data were interpreted in terms of Piaget's theory of spatial representation development. (GO)

A model for sequencing intellectual skills through the use of learning hierarchies is provided. Applications of this model to social studies education are included. (DE)

Analyzes selected aspects of Piaget's theory of cognitive development and offers guidelines for primary social studies curricula based on the analysis. (CM)

The inclusion of probability in the school curriculum is argued to be justified on mathematical, psychological, and social grounds. Contemporary teaching approaches are suggested as sufficient. (MP)

Philosophy and social studies instruction meet in areas of clarification of meaning, examination of beliefs and values, and establishing claims for grounds to knowledge. Suggests ways to use philosophical and critical thinking to foster cognitive growth in students. Presents a sample lesson which integrates critical skills, philosophical thinking,…

Borrowing freely from Freud, Piaget, and others, this article compares and integrates primary (emotional) and secondary (intellectual) process according to seven distinct but overlapping structures: (1) weight; (2) pathways; (3) time and space; (4) operational dialectic; (5) sources of energy; (6) morality; and (7) historical antecedents. Primary…

Describes children's reactions to chance and probability in a variety of experimental situations, using four different experiments from Piaget's work, to give a clearer picture of how children approach these ideas. (GA)

Advance organizers may fail to promote learning even though they are approximately related to the main learning experience and internally meaningful and logical. If they are to optimize the likelihood that new materials will be readily and properly subsumed, they must also be constructed to conform to the cognitive preparedness and scholastic…

Discusses Novak's views that Ausubel's meaningful learning can become an alternative to Piagetian psychology and argues that Ausubel does not provide a theory that can be an alternative to Piaget's developmental psychology. (HM)