Presents two linked experiments on reasoning by analogy. Shows in the first experiment that there are two processes underlying reasoning by analogy: (1) using abstract knowledge; and (2) case-based reasoning. Demonstrates in the second how some individuals use both processes and how they can lead to long-term acquisition of principles underlying…

Wilcox (Cognition 72 (1999) 125) reported that infants are more sensitive to form than surface features when individuating objects in occlusion events: it is not until 7.5 months that infants spontaneously use pattern information, and 11.5 months that they spontaneously use color information, as the basis for object individuation. The present…

Learning in educational settings most often emphasizes declarative and procedural knowledge. Studies of expertise, however, point to other, equally important components of learning, especially improvements produced by experience in the extraction of information: "Perceptual learning." Here we describe research that combines principles of…

The drawings of 17 four- to five-year-old children from two points in time, age four and age five were analyzed. At both ages four and five, the most commonly used scribbles were single vertical lines, single horizontal lines, and single curved lines, whereas the two least used scribbles were spiral and circular lines spread out. The subjects in…

People have unique ways of learning, which may greatly affect the learning process and, therefore, its outcome. In order to be effective, e-learning systems should be capable of adapting the content of courses to the individual characteristics of students. In this regard, some educational systems have proposed the use of questionnaires for…

Most colleges and universities have adopted course management systems (e.g., Blackboard, WebCT). Worldwide faculty and students use them for class communications and discussions. The discussion tools provided by course management systems, while powerful, often do not offer adequate capabilities to appraise communication patterns, online behaviors,…

Development of the ability to classify auditory patterns was studied at grades 2, 6, 10, and 12 and at adult age levels. Both accuracy and feature use in classification were consistent across age; the age changes that did occur appeared to be due to differences in perception rather than process. (JMB)

After stating that almost any topic could be generalized, the author was challenged to generalize the topic of polyominoes. His response is presented in this article. (SD)

Games and activities, which are fun, practical, and related to the child's world, are presented. Suggestions are given for building skills in estimating lengths, guessing how many, recognizing patterns in counting, multiplying with "waffles," classifying by attributes, and adding and subtracting with special cards, relays, and play…

This study examines the integration of heterogeneous bibliographic information resources from geographically distributed locations in an automated, unified, and controlled way using abstract data types called "classes" through the Message-Object Model defined in Smalltalk-80 software. The concept of achieving data consistency by…

Ways of finding the sums of some interesting sequences of numbers are discussed. Finding the patterns creates a challenge, but the patterns are not too difficult for average pupils to discover. Mathematical induction can then be used to prove the formulas. (LS)

Children, ages 3 to 10 were asked to rank random polygons, which differed in complexity according to interestingness and pleasingness. Complexity preferences varied with age. (ST)

With the advent of computers and electronic calculators, the role of logarithms in the curriculum is changing. An intuitive approach to logarithms, stressing the notion of isomorphism, is discussed. (SD)