Offers a theoretical and methodological approach to study of children's socio-cognitive interaction. Observation of object-centered activities among three age groups of children showed different modes of collaboration. Processes were similar across age groups; roots of basic peer interaction patterns reach back into infancy. Similarities across…

Comments on Verba's ideas about collaboration in peer interaction in this issue. Praises Verba for setting new direction in the study and understanding of social processes in cognitive development and for establishing important continuities in how children communicate with peers. Notes that Verba's analyses suggest natural categories of…

In a study on the effects of play period length on four and five year olds' play behavior, results indicated that play time affected the amount and maturity of play. Guidelines for structuring play time in the classroom are offered. (BB)

In search of a better understanding of the learning difficulties in basic electricity, learning results, interest, achievement motivation, IQ, and cognitive development were investigated in students from both urban and rural schools. An analysis reveals that, for urban classes, learning is related primarily to interest and motivation and, for…

Illustrates how history can be taught through a problem-solving method. Encourages teachers to use critical thinking methods based on experience, helping students develop a systematic approach to thinking about historical problems. Stresses developing students' ability to evaluate historical sources allows teachers to direct a more interactive…

Presents chapter one of V. V. Davydov's 1986 monograph, "Problems of Developmental Teaching." Examines the dialectical-materialist sources of the psychological concept of activity; and activity, the mind, and consciousness. Building from Lev S. Vygotsky's work and within a Marxist-Leninist framework, explores relationships among…

After viewing sequences of pictures that depicted a problem, children produced stories with plots and character responses. After sequences of uneventful pictures, children produced stories that focused on actions and used simple connectives. First graders' stories contained more goals, complex language, and temporal connectives than did those of…

A study asked 24 first grade children from 3 different classes to write number sentences and select appropriate alternative number sentences for addition and subtraction word problems. Results indicated that children could be characterized into five clusters according to their flexibility in accepting alternative number sentences and that…

Discussed is why students have the tendency to apply an "add the numerators and add the denominators" approach to adding fractions. Suggested is providing examples exemplifying this intuitive approach from ratio, concentration, and distance problems to demonstrate under what conditions it is applicable in contrast to the addition algorithm. (MDH)

When comparing performances across four versions of Computer as Lab Partner curriculum, increases in understanding were found when students predicted outcomes and reconciled results, and students used a heat-flow model of thermodynamics to integrate their experimental results. Argued is that curriculum must explicitly motivate students to…

A 1-year lag was found between the effect of an intervention intended to promote formal operational thinking in students initially 11 or 12 years of age and the appearance of substantial science achievement in the experimental groups. A one-year lag on cognitive development and an age/gender interaction were also reported. (Author/KR)

The value of incorporating the haptic mode into the science curriculum and expanding "hands-on experience" to "total-body experience" are discussed. The pedagogical implications of the role of movement in cognitive development are described. (KR)

Increased use of cooperative learning methods is a visible change in mathematics education in the last decade. Research questions on cooperative learning concerning different models employed, their effectiveness compared to traditional methods of instruction, their effects on student achievement, and cognitive and affective benefits gained during…

Analyzed are the different stages in the conceptual evolution of infinity as developed historically through the work of Bolzano and Cantor. Results of a study of 18 to 20 year old's concept of infinity prior to instruction produced aspects of the passage between conceptual levels of infinity. (MDH)

Examines self-assessment as a personality structure that changes in its development as individuals mature. Explains prognosticative, actual (or correcting), and retrospective self-assessment. Develops a structural-dynamic explanatory model, characterizing self-assessment as a systemic formation. Relates self-evaluation to achievement, volitional…