Kegan's theory consists of five orders of consciousness that represent principles of mental organization affecting the way we think, feel, and relate to ourselves and others. Key concepts and strategies with substantial promise for student affairs practice include coaching, holding environments, and bridge building. (Author/MKA)

This article discusses teaching higher-level thinking skills and concentration to students with disabilities through chess instruction. Guidelines for chess instruction are provided, including: teaching ideas and strategy first rather than specific lines of play, using a variety of instructional modalities, and building in reinforcement for…

Explored young children's motivation for gender-stereotypical preferences, examining cognitive development and understanding theory. Data from research on children in their first year of school and children transitioning into school found an association between gender-stereotypical behavior and attainment of gender constancy, suggesting that…

A study of 33 gifted children (ages 6-12) showed that external indicators of smartness were synthesized with internal factors of feelings and judgments about intelligence. A developmental progress in the children's understanding was found which suggests that age is a factor to consider when discussing giftedness with children. (Author/CR)

Results with 54 pairs of Slovenian students, matched for participation or nonparticipation in intensive sports classes in elementary school, indicate that a combination of flexible organization of academic work and intensive sports classes does not have a negative impact on intellectual, academic, or personality development. (SLD)

Used observations and theory of mind interviews to examine the impact of a program to increase the complexity of shared pretend play in 4-year-olds. Found that the amount and complexity of shared pretense increased for the play training group and performance on theory-of-mind tasks significantly improved for the play training group but not for the…

Describes an exploratory teaching experiment carried out to test the hypothesis that it is feasible to develop a disposition toward more realistic mathematical modeling in pupils. The learning and transfer effects of an experimental class of 10- and 11-year-old students that were compared to the results of two control groups support this…

Some experts claim that learning two languages well gives rise to mental flexibility, superior concept formation, a diversified set of mental abilities, and metalinguistic awareness. Although most researchers believe accomplished bilingualism and cognitive development are positively related, this view is not universally accepted, and the exact…

Explores the nature, importance, and development of child metacognition, arguing for the assisted development of metacognitive awareness in young children. Identifies factors that enhance metacognitive development and thus assist the transfer of learning. Suggests that metateaching strategies can help mediate the metacognitive strategies of…

Two experiments examined impact of training in false belief understanding on 3-year-olds. Training involved encouragement of reflection on the event of various false belief scenarios, especially the protagonist's thoughts. Results suggested that task-specific strategies for close transfer posttest success were learned, rather than demonstrating a…

Cognitive Enrichment Advantage is a student-centered literacy education method used in Canadian prisons. It emphasizes the teacher's role as mediator of learning; its 12 building blocks of thinking and 8 tools of learning embody a constructivist approach. A goal is fostering independent and interdependent lifelong learning. (SK)

Deaf children with signing parents, nonnative signing deaf children, children from a hearing impaired unit, oral deaf children, and hearing controls were tested on theory of Mind (ToM) tasks and a British sign language receptive language test. Language ability correlated positively and significantly with ToM ability. Age underpinned the…

Reflects on how student affairs professionals can help students explore the unfamiliar space between knowing and doing. Discusses the role of student development educators in helping students go from knowing something to being able to use that knowledge to inform their own attitudes and behaviors. (GCP)

Examined infants' ability to retrieve an object from atop a slightly larger object. Found that even 5-month-olds could retrieve objects close in size and fully contiguous with their bases when demands on reaching skill were reduced. Proposed that when they fail this task, it is because they lack the skill to reach the top object without…

Describes the processes of thinking, learning, appreciation, and improvement of higher level thinking skills developed through the exploration and adaptation of Shakespeare's works at the middle school level. Offers suggestions for specific techniques, including character creation, casting, music, and rehearsals. (JPB)