Individual differences in same-aged children's reasoning about effort and ability, as well as the consequences of different forms of reasoning in actual achievement situations, were investigated. It was hypothesized that different forms of children's reasoning would be related to different (helpless versus mastery-oriented) motivational patterns.…

This study focused on the cognitive conflicts experienced by young children in using software programs that provided them with tools to create and/or combine individual graphic elements into larger structures. Six 5-year-old children, none with prior computer experience, were observed using three programs--Kids at Work, Picture Perfect, and…

This junior high school level curriculum guide on drug education is a revision of a 1981 guide. It is one of nine sequential guides for elementary and secondary teachers and administrators designed to prevent drug misuse and abuse through combined cognitive and affective development. The affective model upon which this curriculum is based has…

The effectiveness of a cognitive-behavioral interpersonal problem solving (IPS) training program was evaluated with 35 poorly accepted second, third, and fourth graders. Group 1 received instruction in IPS and included only Ss low in peer acceptance; group 2 consisted of Ss low in peer acceptance who participated in IPS with same sex and grade Ss…

This document presents hypotheses about how much understanding a user needs to perform skillfully using a computer or a computer program. A framework for characterizing user understanding is presented which includes three criteria for evaluating the representation generated during problem solving: (1) internal coherence--whether the components of…

Adolescence is a time when formal abstract thought becomes possible, enabling the individual to work through the highest stages of morality. Adolescents' understanding of religion and their commitment to it seem to differ sharply from those of children. It has been proposed that adolescents are likely to change, expand, or abandon their religious…

Available for the first time in an English translation, the book reports the results of a series of studies undertaken in the early 1960s on the cognitive development of children with congenital blindness. Chapters one and two review the literaure on such topics as the concept of sensory compensation and the nature of tactual space and provide…

The purpose of this study was to systematically examine the cognitive and social effects of the use of microcomputers with kindergarten children in the school and at home. Three schools received microcomputers for use in kindergarten classrooms and each student in one of the classrooms was provided a PCjr and educational software to use at home.…

The incidence and nature of depressed and nondepressed mothers' unpremeditated "teaching" behaviors was investigated during 8-minute periods of videotaped interactions between each mother and her toddler and a suitcase full of toys. Diagnosed mothers had experienced depressive episodes during their child's lifetime. Nondepressed mothers…

The paper reviews the effects of absence of vision on perceptual functioning and considers ways in which a modified Optacon (which translates images into tactile presentations) can help visually impaired persons acquire critical cognitive and perceptual knowledge. Background research with the Tactile Vision Substitution System, a system for…

Two studies investigated the role that parental attitudes and behavior play in filtering the complexity of the world into manageable forms for children. Cognitive and behavioral patterns used as dependent variables were cognition (reading scores, language use, general information, beliefs, reality-fantasy discrimination); imagination;…

This book is designed to help teachers, assistants, and volunteers who work in day care centers, preschools, and kindergartens teach basic skills to young children (ages 3-6) when they are ready to acquire the skill. Separate sections are provided for each of 11 skill areas: (1) listening; (2) memory; (3) colors; (4) counting; (5) geometric…

The major developmental challenge for children is not simply to create a unified text world but to move among multiple worlds, carrying out multiple roles and coordinating multiple space/time structures. A study observed eight primary-grade students over a 2-year period and focused on the interrelationships between children's creation of written…

In composition studies, the most influential statement of what Brian Street calls the autonomous model of literacy is the work of Walter Ong. Ong bases the foundation of this model on the research on cognitive development done by Alexander Luria, a student of Lev Vygotsky. Ong finds in this research, carried out among the Islamic people of…

The application of Piagetian theory to educational practices encounters a series of major difficulties. The main focus of this paper is on the notion of general stages, which has been under attack in numerous studies. Organized in four parts, the paper: (1) discusses the problem of the existence of general stages and of a developmental…