Discusses the need to teach earth science material at the cognitive level of development of the student and presents examples of earth science related tests of formal and concrete operational competencies. (SL)

Presents a developmental study of children's understanding and appreciation of figurative language. Results replicated previous findings that kindergarten children are capable of interpreting figurative language whereas appreciation appears to require increased cognitive sophistication. (JMB)

Cohort-sequential analyses were conducted on measures from the Primary Mental Abilities Test and the Test of Behavioral Rigidity for 2,151 participants at the first testing and 723 individuals at the retesting 7 years later. Data were examined for 7-year age intervals from 25 to 81 years and cohort intervals from 1889 to 1938. (Author/JMB)

The development of children's comprehension of cause and effect relationships was studied in 68 kindergarten, first grade, and second grade children. (BRT)

This research studied the relation between mastery of the words "and" and "or" and performance on the conjunctive and disjunctive tasks. A definition test was used to measure level of mastery of the linguistic terms and a traditional logical test to measure logical task performance. Results are related with ability to solve logical tasks.…

Three investigations of preschool children's comprehension of "younger" and "older" are discussed. Results suggest children focus on height in their initial hypotheses about meanings of the terms, ignoring age or function cues. These and findings about acquisition of antonyms are discussed in terms of recent theorizing about lexical-meaning…

Children's understanding of the nature of polar terms and comparative terms between the polar opposites is discussed. (CHK)

Diary observations of two-year-olds' over-extended word use have been interpreted as arising from the word's underlying semantic feature structure. This interpretation was rejected after a study of five children. The need to construct models of early word meaning reflecting certain early language development patterns is discussed. (CHK)

The comprehension ability of 36 children at three stages of telegraphic speech was assessed using active behavioral responses to declarative and imperative sentences. A significant increase in verbal and behavioral appropriateness with age was found for imperative and declarative forms. Results are compared with Shipley, Smith and Gleitman's…

The traditional college curriculum is seen as a collection of answers for students who do not yet have the questions; an alternative approach that nurtures students' capacities for inquiry is suggested and outlined. (MSE)

Examines non-traditional teaching methods which emphasize groupwork and speaking skills, stating that they should be used in higher education geography courses because they enhance students' intellectual development and general employability. Discusses seven important principles for teaching these skills, arguing that these methods improve both…

A teaching workshop for faculty from member liberal arts colleges in the Central Pennsylvania Consortium is reported. Presentations of the William Perry scheme of student intellectual and moral development are described. (MLW)

The author analyzes primary students' spontaneous, unsanctioned talk in the classroom and argues that these interactions can become occasions for engaging in intellectually demanding tasks. Drawing upon two years of research in an urban elementary school, she reviews accomplishments of children who, without explicit directions, collaborated to…

An interview with Elliot Eisner, widely regarded for his research in the diverse fields of art education, curriculum development, and educational evaluation, focuses on his views regarding students' aesthetic ways of knowing, including discussion on concept formation, intellectual development, appropriate educational settings, and cognitive style.…

Engineering education is viewed as the development of the quality of thinking in students, and the implications of this approach for student assessment are discussed. (MSE)