Presents the findings and pedagogical implications of a study that focused on intellectual orientation and multiple-source writing. Suggests that first-year college students who write from multiple sources can approach divergent points of view from a variety of intellectual orientations. (MG)

A developmentally sensitive problem-solving task--the 20-Question Game--was used to examine development and treatment variables among 48 learning disabled and 48 normal boys at two age levels (8-13 years old). Results indicate that both younger boys and learning disabled boys demonstrated less efficient problem-solving skills than did others. (TJH)

There is a vast difference between factual information and a sense of understanding that comes from the organization of knowledge in a way in which it can be used in decision processes. Recognition of interdependencies and interrelatedness leads to understanding and utilization. (JD)

Gifted students come from all socioeconomic backgrounds. A broader definition of giftedness and improved assessment methods will help remove barriers that keep poor and minority students out of programs for the gifted. (TE)

This study delineates modes of thinking that differentiate exceptionally gifted children from more moderately gifted peers. Cognitive differences include viewing the simple as complex, a need for precision, viewing the complex as simple, abstract reasoning ability, early grasp of essential elements of an issue, high capacity for empathy,…

Minnesota technical college instructors (n=60) completed the Learning Environment Preferences Inventory based on Perry's developmental schema; 72% were in the category of multiplicity. Those with master's degrees scored higher than bachelor's or nondegreed teachers; women scored higher than men. Intellectual development and years of education were…

Reviews "Human Minds: An Exploration" by Margaret Donaldson, which inquires into the diverse uses of minds, their ontogenetic development, and their histories. The two predominant themes in the book are the ontogenetic and historical development of cognition, and development of social-emotional understandings and experiences as well as…

Analyzed the influence of a comprehensive program of nurse home visitation on the intellectual functioning of children born to women who smoked cigarettes during pregnancy. Found that comprehensive home-visitation services before and after delivery can offset the impairment in intellectual functioning associated with substantial maternal smoking…

Through a formal program offering in-school jobs to students who want or need them, kids at a small-town Oregon middle school can experience various work conditions and apply abstract knowledge to practical problems. As science aides, playground assistants, and groundskeepers, students earn tokens that can be spent for parties, field trips, school…

A study investigated the extent to which 210 college students' learning orientations were shaped independently and jointly by their academic and nonacademic experiences. Findings indicated that the two kinds of experience each made statistically significant and unique contributions to gains in intellectual orientation after controlling for…

"Politically correct" outlooks are to be neither wholly accepted nor wholly rejected; they are to be learned from. The self-scrutiny bred by concern about political correctness is an important part of the university tradition; and without it, colleges could not experience their current growing diversity. (MSE)

Surveyed student affairs professionals (n=56) to determine if those who purported to know in-depth Perry's (1970) theory of intellectual development demonstrated use of Perry theory in intervention criteria. Concluded those who demonstrated intentional use of Perry theory criteria were more likely to be Myers-Briggs Feeling and Perceiving types…

Reviews four books: (1) "On Intelligence. . .More or Less: A Bioecological Treatise on Intellectual Development" (Stephen J. Ceci); (2) "Knowing Children: Experiments in Conversation and Cognition" (Michael Siegal); (3) "Adolescents and Their Families: Paths of Ego Development" (S. T. Hauser and others); and (4) "Adolescence: An Anthropological…

Examined 114 pairs of same-sex infant twins and their parents to investigate infant predictors of adult IQ. Found that some measures of infants' information processing, language ability, and temperament predicted the average IQ of infants' parents. Results support the view that some stability in certain types of intellectual functioning from…

Examines several current nonfiction books that can expand a child's knowledge of a wide variety of subjects, noting that the breadth of a child's knowledge base affects his or her reading development. Subjects discussed include dinosaurs, animal preservation, insects, ecology, history, and drugs and alcohol. (SM)