Maintains that recent theoretical and methodological advances have sparked renewed interest in studying children's learning. Describes consistent and interesting findings regarding how children learn and intriguing proposals regarding mechanisms underlying learning. Argues that increasing the focus on children's learning promises practical…

Argues that motor and cognitive development may be fundamentally interrelated. Summarizes evidence of close co-activation of the neocerebellum and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in functional neuroimaging, similarities in the cognitive sequelae of damage to dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and the neocerebellum, motor deficits in…

Makes a case for rereading the fact-value dichotomy that currently divides the contemporaneous literatures dealing with children's moral reasoning development and their evolving theories of mind. Presents findings from two research programs, in which children's beliefs about truth and rightness are combined, to illustrate the natural…

Three experiments investigated the developmental progression of reliance on object function versus object shape to extend novel words among 3- and 5-year olds and adults. Findings indicated that children focused on shape, whereas adults focused on function when extending novel words, suggesting a developmental change in the consideration of these…

Compared online processing of Catalan phonemic contrasts in Spanish-dominant and Catalan-dominant Catalan-Spanish bilingual undergraduate students. Results supported hypothesis that L1 (first language) shapes the perceptual system at early stages of development in such a way that it will determine the perception of nonnative phonemic contrasts,…

Discusses the pedagogical practices of the Montessori Farm School for adolescents. Examines the progressive stages of community involvement that lead to an understanding of civilization and place, including uses of technology, local lore, and history; the student's developing role within the local and world communities; and the examination of…

Investigated 4-, 8-, and 11-year-olds' ability to categorize intentionally false and true statements as lies and truths. Found that older children were more likely to categorize false statements as lies and true statements as truths than were 4-year-olds. Antisocial lies were rated as most serious, and "white lies" as least serious.…

Mental state language was examined in Mandarin- speaking and Cantonese-speaking toddlers. Results suggested that theory-of-mind development was similar to that in English, with early use of desire terms followed by other mental state references. Much earlier emergence of desire terms and infrequent use of thinking terms suggests cultural…

Recent research findings show that experiences alter the anatomical structure of the brain, that the effects of experience on the brain differ at different ages and between males and females, and that brain development is not complete until about age 18. (SV)

Children should learn foreign languages during a window of opportunity that is widest until about age 10. After that, the window closes on the speech sounds of a new language, and it becomes more difficult to acquire native or near-native speech while learning a foreign language. (MLH)

Summarizes the benefits of early foreign language learning, including the personal, cognitive, academic, professional, and societal benefits. (Author/VWL)

This study developed a test battery to assess the cognitive skills in children with physical limitations. A preliminary battery of 83 items was administered to 26 children, aged 26 to 36 months, with severe physical impairments. Rasch analysis yielded a final battery of 35 items with high internal consistency, interrater reliability, and…

Examined whether 5- and 6-year-olds understand that addition and subtraction cancel each other and whether this understanding is based on identity or quantity of addend and subtrahend. Found that children used inversion principle. Six- to eight-year-olds also used inversion and decomposition to solve a + b - (B+1) problems. Concluded that…

Examined development of inhibitory control using a stop-signal procedure with subjects ages 6 to 81 years. Found that the speed of stopping becomes faster with increasing age throughout childhood, with limited evidence of slowing across adulthood. The go-signal reaction time clearly increased through childhood and slowed markedly through…

Two experiments examined whether associating an imitation task with an operant task affected 6-month-olds' memory for either task. Results indicated that infants successfully imitated a puppet's action for up to 2 weeks only if the associated operant task (pressing a lever to activate a miniature train) was retrieved first. Follow-up study…