This paper reports on research carried out in Sweden on concept formation as related to science education. Particular emphasis is given to the aquisition of the concepts of proportionality and density by tenth-grade students. Comparisons were made of the student's everyday thoughts about density and their ability to understand the Cartesian Diver…

This investigation looks at the difficulties tenth-grade students have with the concept of proportionality and the problems this causes in tenth-grade physics. Students were asked to solve various problems in the areas of volume measurement and weight, all relating to proportionality, and their approaches to the tasks were recorded. As a result,…

The knowledge and mental processes called on in mathematics can be used to improve composition. Three desirable requirements of an analogy to be used in teaching writing are that it should bridge the art of writing and science, should be readily accessible to the mind of the average student, and should allow the student to employ an architectural…

This study examined how well adults can make inferences about children's cognitive abilities. Subjects (n=60) were four groups of adults: female parents, female nonparents, male parents, and male nonparents. They were shown the typical method of administering 13 Piagetian tasks, ranging from object permanence to the formal-operational pendulum…

The objectives of this study were (1) to observe and describe the social quality and the cognitive type of spontaneous play exhibited in a group of 20 children in a child care setting during two age periods, toddler (14-30 months) and preschool (30-48 months), and (2) to chart the developmental trends using a model of play complexity derived from…

The booklet summarizes finding involving over 6,300 youth in the New York State Program for Institutionalized Neglected and Delinquent Children. Four state agencies (the Education Department, the Division for Youth, the Department of Correctional Services, and the Office of Drug Abuse Services) are explained to have contributed data on…

Simultaneous maximum likelihood procedures were used to investigate the generality of ability factor structure in adulthood and old age. Data were analyzed for 198 subjects aged 15-32; 173 subjects aged 51-67; and 153 subjects aged 68-83. Variables were 14 ability tests marking five cognitive factors: verbal comprehension, number facility,…

This researcher examined the development of social (moral) reasoning as a result of student exposure to the social, experiential atmosphere of a school community with intensive education. A group of 250 students in grades nine through twelve were given the Defining Issues Test which examined social reasoning on six moral judgment stories. The…

The article reviews the cognitive behavioral approaches to the training of intelligence in the mentally retarded. A proposed structure of intelligent behavior is presented that serves as the basis for classifying the intended foci of the various training programs. Selected training programs are reviewed in terms of this classification. The…

The theme of the seventh yearbook of the Association for the Education of Teachers in Science (AETS) involves the relationship of psychology of teaching thinking and creativity as this activity is performed in a science education context. Eleven chapters follow a foreword by Jean Piaget and the reproduction of Part I of "The Central Purpose of…

A study of the responses made to problems selected from Raven's Progressive Matrices showed differences in the kinds of errors typically made by eighteen-year-old students. Nine problems were used and the 68 subjects were told to draw their answers on the answer sheets. There were two trials per puzzle. A classification system, devised for errors,…

In this study, six children were selected by age and were administered Piagetian tasks designed to measure their level of cognitive development against the hierarchical structuring of age/achievement posited by Jean Piaget. The task administrations are presented in detail with descriptions of the subject and the tasks, a verbatim report, and the…

Piaget's theory that distinct stages in the organization of memory correspond to successive stages in cognitive development was tested using 150 eighth graders. Cognitive levels were assessed with Inhelder and Piaget's balance beam task, initially, and again at seven months. Mnemonic levels were assessed with Piaget and Inhelder's memory of an…

A study was designed to formulate a taxonomy of the literary response processes of children. Three fifth grade girls reading above grade level were asked to read two books that treated a common subject (the death of a child) in different ways. Interviews with the children were recorded so that their literary responses could be analyzed for…

This paper reports on research designed to examine relationships among analogical reasoning, Piagetian level, and physics achievement. A sample of 37 college students enrolled in a physics course participated in a three-day study and were given tasks designed to measure analogical reasoning ability and Piagetian level. Course achievement was…