The present study was designed to assess the effectiveness of certain cognitive training tasks on children in group settings under natural preschool conditions. Thirty-five children, aged 47-63 months, were divided into six experimental groups and received various cognitive tasks. Results indicated that most children experienced at least moderate…

This study was planned to examine differences in the ability to stop and think, and knowledge of comparative concepts, among children who succeeded or failed in solving verbally presented class inclusion problems. Thirty third-grade boys were classified as non-Inclusion subjects, and 30 others as Inclusion subjects. The children were classified as…

The objective of this study was to assess the ability of a previously prepared diagnostic test to detect the need for remediation in preschool children and then to assess the effectiveness of specially designed remedial materials. The subjects consisted of 47 boys and 25 girls from four private kindergartens in Nashville, Tennessee. All subjects…

This paper discusses beginning reading instruction in the light of Piaget's theory, which demands that we think more broadly about the term "where the child is" in terms of his level of thinking, not simply his reading level or reading skill level. Using Piaget's four major developmental stages as the basis, the task of instruction in…

Because of the prevalent attitude among teachers of English at the secondary level that classroom dramatic activity is only a strong motivational device which encourages insights, interest, and open expression, the worth of dramatic activity in promoting cognitive development has been ignored. In fact, the concept of drama as a classroom catalyst…

The Wisconsin model of conceptual learning and development specifies four levels of mastery in the acquisition of a concept. The levels of mastery are defined in terms of performance on tasks designed to measure each level. This paper discusses the internal operations or processes which are inferred as the mechanisms by which each level of…

To determine whether children possess representations and concepts of space before they acquire verbal descriptions of these, children's formation of symbolic representations of space and their acquisition of verbal referents for them were observed. It was found for subjects in the study that conceptual representations of space relations were…

Experiments dealing with quantification processes in adults were run as part of an attempt to formulate an information processing model of cognitive development. The existence of three quantification operators--subitizing, counting and estimation--was first postulated. Experiments were then designed to refine the parameters which define the…

This paper discusses cognitive learning in terms of reinforcement theory and presents arguments suggesting that a viable theory of cognition based on reinforcement principles is not out of the question. This position is supported by a discussion of the weaknesses of theories based entirely on contiguity and of considerations that are more positive…

The various chapters in the text provide details of factual situations and teaching practices in the school environment. The authors convey their conviction that the field of experimental pedagogy must remain autonomous while utilizing the findings of psychology and that all hypotheses derived from psychology must be verified through actual…

A series of structured experiences in a wilderness setting was used to generate changes in the feelings and attitudes of students and faculty in the 7th grade classes in the Battle Creek, Michigan Public Schools. The objectives of the project were to reverse racial separatism; reduce racially related, negative black/white incidents, to increase…

The animistic beliefs of 40 schizophrenic children were compared with the beliefs of 40 normal children (age range for both groups from 11 to 15 years) in light of Jean Piaget's developmental stages of animistic thinking. Each S was tested individually on the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test and on whether each of 20 objects was animate.…

Cognitive categories in infants that have relevance for linguistic development were investigated. "Agent" and "recipient," the categories chosen, are relational categories which by definition involve action. This experiment explored infants' (48 males, 14-24 months of age) sensitivity to certain "action parameters" of events. The question of…

The Piagetian operations of multiple classification, multiple attributes, seriation and reversibility were used to develop an "equilibrated methodology" to help preschool children conserve quantity. Randomly assigned experimental and control groups within morning and afternoon classes at a nursery school were used to evaluate the…

This paper examines the sequence and hierarchy of objectives in the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) "Science--A Process Approach" curriculum. The work of Piaget, Bruner forms a framework from which the learning objectives and tasks in the AAAS science curriculum are examined. The points of correspondence…