Investigates whether the critical period for cognitive transition from concrete operations to formal operations at 12-14 years of age actually exists. Uses the Cognitive Acceleration through Science Education (CASE) intervention program in Malawi. Discusses the existence of the critical period, academic achievement, and explanations for age and…

Investigates the extent to which a representation of relative force can account for children's understanding of epistemic modals when their logical meaning is considered. Results confirm the influence of relative force and suggest that deductive inference is an early semantic component of modal terms. (29 references) (Author/CK)

Reviews the development of spatial organization in children with blindness. Discusses the importance of motor exploration, tactual development, and spatial representation as critical factors in developing spatial and cognitive organizations of their surroundings. Suggests seven specific activities to improve spatial organization in blind children.…

Constructivist theory argues that students construct knowledge for themselves and that each knows the world in a different way. The problem for education is how students can construct an "objectified" knowledge. Outlines an integrative framework for the description of information and problem-solving procedures and a problem-solving…

Observed infants' responses in a food-requested procedure to explore their understanding of other people's desires. Found that only the 18-month-olds were able to engage in some form of desire reasoning. Children not only inferred that another person held a desire, but also recognized how desires were related to emotions and understood something…

Maintains that, although Leontiev's sociocultural orientation and its activity emphasis were inherited from Vygotsky's theory, the two men's theoretical motives and goals differed. Vygotsky's focus on symbolic mediation transforming psychological processes and Leontiev's on activities leading to internalization of action in mental processes were…

Traces continuities between current approaches and earlier traditions in developmental psychology. Contends that current work often ignores commonalities with previous work within psychology. Explores the fate of Piaget's clinical method and its continuities and contrasts with current approaches. Maintains that the conflict generated by the…

Developed the Gender Stereotyping Test, a sorting task that identifies the type of information used by young children to assign objects or qualities to each sex. Found that 4-year olds with knowledge of gender identity were more likely to gender type metaphorical, but not conventional, items than children without stable, constant gender identity.…

Provides teachers with some ideas about the development of physical knowledge to make them more receptive to the differences between their own and their students' thinking. Illustrates an adapted version of Piaget's model of the growth of physical knowledge using the development of classical mechanics. Contains 12 references. (Author/JRH)

Examined evidence for transitions in first and second graders' analogical reasoning, over a six-month period. Found strong evidence for bimodality in test performance frequency distributions and weaker evidence for inaccessibility in frequency distributions. Transitional subjects showed a temporary increase of inconsistent solution behavior and…

Reviews literature on music perception and cognition in the first year of life and examines their contribution to domains such as child development and music education. Focuses on studies examining musical features and the uses of music in the everyday life of infants and their caretakers. Critiques previous and current literature. Discusses…

Two experiments investigated short-term visual person recognition in 8- and 10-year-olds and adults within Tanaka and Farah's part-whole paradigm. Results revealed that person recognition became more accurate between 8 years and adulthood but there was no developmental shift in visual information processes with face and whole person recognition.…

Considers how students' mathematical thinking evolves as a result of their actions and everyday experiences and from increasing reliance on introduced mathematical principles and representations. Exemplifies how 8- to 10-year-olds' personal representations come to face with representations involving algebraic concepts. Explores implications for…

This study compared the levels of student engagement between fraternity and sorority members and other undergraduate students. After controls, Greek members appeared to be equally and sometimes more engaged in academically challenging tasks, active learning, student-faculty interaction, community service, diversity, satisfaction, and on learning…

Four studies examined whether 16-month-olds' responses to true/false utterances interacted with their knowledge of human agents. Findings suggested that infants are developing a critical conception of human speakers as truthful communicators and that infants understand that human speakers may provide uniquely useful information when a word fails…