In this study Piaget's method of the clinical interview was used to examine children's understanding of rotation about apoint at three age levels (6, 7, and 8). In two half-hour sessions, subjects (N = 108) were given four tasks: (1) an adaptation of Piaget's locus and circular motion experiment, and tasks concerned with (2) the circle as a locus…

The purpose of this study was to assess the relative effectiveness of verbal teaching methods as compared to a nonverbal approach which permitted no oral communication. Four fourth-grade classes consisting of a total of 88 students in one school were randomly assigned to treatment groups so that two were taught nonverbally and two were taught by…

This study investigated the effectiveness of teaching sixth-grade students to use diagrams, sketches, and pictures in solving arithmetic word problems. Three instructional groups were formed from a pool of 362 subjects. Group 1 practiced solving problems using only verbal statements; group 2 practiced on problems presented in word form, sometimes…

This study was planned to examine differences in the ability to stop and think, and knowledge of comparative concepts, among children who succeeded or failed in solving verbally presented class inclusion problems. Thirty third-grade boys were classified as non-Inclusion subjects, and 30 others as Inclusion subjects. The children were classified as…

A study investigated both how teachers' effectiveness in the classroom reflected on their pupils' performance on the Certificate of Primary Education and whether teacher training programs prepared teachers for practical classroom demands. Responses were gathered from questionnaires and unstructured interviews with trained primary school teachers,…

Prior research on problem solving is discussed, followed by a review of research on mental processes, intellectual development, information processing, mental images, and conceptual imagery. Then four intact fourth grade classes of 23 pupils each were assigned to a 2 x 2 factorial design. One factor was the type of instruction (Method A and Method…

The purpose of the study was to determine the influence of wait-time following a teacher's questions on the cognitive complexity of students' responses. The same sequence of three lessons--Exploration, Invention, and Discovery--was presented to 75 fifth-grade students randomly assigned to 18 groups. The Discovery phase of the instructional…

This study compared two techniques of teaching verbal problem solving. The consensus method is a commonly used decision-making strategy, while the expository (control) method is the most familiar teaching strategy for verbal problems. Two sets of sixth-grade students under two teachers were divided into treatment groups. Both sets of subjects were…

In order to formulate instructional hypotheses and research directions, a profile of seven-year-old children's behavioral patterns associated with the writing process was sought. Eight case study children were chosen from two formal and two informal classrooms in a middle class community. Secondary focus was on gathering data from larger groups in…

The action research project report began when the teacher researchers determined that students at Sites A and B struggled with reading achievement. The purpose of the project was to improve students' reading achievement through increased motivation, specific skill instruction, and additional practice time. The project involved 26 students: 17…

A kindergarten teacher implemented a cross-age tutoring program pairing second-grade students with her kindergarteners for the purpose of improving the younger children's pre-reading and mathematics abilities, and increasing the older children's self-esteem and motivation for learning. Chapter I describes the focus of the study. The literature…

A study to improve the reading and mathematics skills of selected second-grade students at Albert Sidney Johnston Elementary School utilized educational television programs as supplements to the basal programs in reading and mathematics. This practicum at the all-minority school was designed (1) to improve reading skills to mastery of 7 of the 12…

The purpose of this investigation was to examine syntax comprehension by poor and average prereaders in first grade and poor and average readers in second grade, to determine whether a relationship exists between reading ability or reading readiness and comprehension of syntax. Subjects were 55 first-grade children and 56 second-grade children of…

Two instructional variables, sequence and mode, were operationally defined; two methods of sequencing, deductive and inductive, were used, and two modes, concrete and pictorial. Experimental lesson sequences for instruction in the rules and concepts of multiplication were developed for each combination of levels of the variables. The lesson…

This study was designed to determine if a group of five- and eight-year-old students' understanding of selected geometric ideas paralleled Piaget's topological, projective, and Euclidean thesis. Additional purposes were to investigate which geometric ideas the group learned easiest, and to examine the relationships between geometric understanding…