The Piagetian operations of multiple classification, multiple attributes, seriation and reversibility were used to develop an "equilibrated methodology" to help preschool children conserve quantity. Randomly assigned experimental and control groups within morning and afternoon classes at a nursery school were used to evaluate the…

Piaget's theory of cognitive development is explained, especially in relation to the teaching of elementary school science. Several research projects involving Piaget's theories are reviewed. (MLH)

The purpose was to determine (1) if there was a significant difference in the performance on five science-related Piaget type tasks by fifth graders who were currently involved in different elementary science programs, and (2) if the tasks formed a hierarchical sequence of difficulty for the students. Three groups of fifth graders were studied;…

Reported is a study of the relationship between ability to perform selected Piagetian tasks and achievement in various content areas. Sixty fifth-grade students were administered the Science Research Associates Achievement Series to assess grade-level category. Also, each child was administered one or more Piagetian tasks selected to determine…

Studied classroom behaviors and conservation ability of elementary school science students taught by either Student-Structured Learning in Science (SSLS) or Teacher-Structured Learning in Science (TSLS). Reports on how behavior of conservers and nonconservers differs in SSLS and TSLS with respect to observing, following directions, and inventing…

The efficacy of small group instructional programs in classificatory, seriation, and combined class/series skills was evaluated for a sample of 60 urban, middle-class, 4- to 5-year-old children in a transfer of training design. Significant curriculum-specific transfer effects were found for the seriation instructional condition, whereas little…

The author examines Novak's position that science and mathematics educators should discard Piaget's theory of intellectual development in favor of Ausubel's theory of meaningful learning as a guide for teaching practice and research. (PB)

Discusses the deficiencies of presenting the theme of energy in the current West German school textbooks. The article emphasizes the structural importance of entropy for the understanding of energy and suggests how the physics teacher can contribute to the development of an appropriate attitude toward the energy crisis. (HM)