Causes of cognitive underdevelopment in Zulu children and the cognitive functions necessary for efficient school learning are outlined. To assess potential for learning and to remediate cognitive underfunctioning, 20 secondary students analyzed, organized, and reproduced a complex geometric figure. Positive effects were evident following specific…

This book argues that adult learning from experiences in paid and unpaid work contexts should be the basis for a new perception of what is truly educative about life. Part I sets out what practice is like in postmodern times. Chapter 1 introduces the argument that 'know how' is important in lifelong learning. Chapter 2 shows organic learning is a…

This study examines thought, language, and related action in sixth-graders working to understand concepts related to mass, volume, and density. Students from a heterogeneous urban classroom worked in various social contexts including individually, in pairs, in groups of four, and as a class. Their work was examined via videotapes, field notes,…

The Communication Theory and Method Division section of the proceedings contains the following 16 papers: "Profiling TV Ratings Users: Content-Based Advisories and Their Adoption" (Robert Abelman and David Atkin); "It's All About the Information: Salience Effects on the Perceptions of News Exemplification" (Francesca R. Dillman…

Twenty-one research articles originally published in the "Australasian Journal of Gifted Education" over the past decade are collected in this book and address aspects of gifted education including pedagogy and curriculum, policy and practice, social and emotional needs, school and family, neuropsychology and cognition, and special…

Contrasts two approaches to achieving depth in an 8th grade U.S. history class. One presents a detailed and chronological approach, the other a discipline-based matrix structure with chronological and regional evolutions as a backdrop. Favors stressing major principles and generalizations while focusing in depth on prototypical examples. (MJP)

Reports on a study where pairs of students in the fifth and seventh grades generated and answered questions based on maps. Results indicated that students most often generated three types of questions: (1) symbol reading, (2) inferring latitude and longitude, and (3) interpreting scale. Analyzes these questions in regard to cognitive processes.…

Two studies provide support for a model of jealousy based on self-evaluation maintenance theory. Greater jealousy was reported when the domain of a rival's achievements was also a domain of high self-relevance to the participant. Notes sex differences in the impact of relationship partners on domains of self-definition. (LSR)

Evaluated effects of time pressure on attributions made and solutions generated in hypothetical social problem situations by aggressive and nonaggressive boys. Found a greater level of arousal in the time pressure condition than the untimed condition across all subjects and greater numbers, more types, and more aggressive solutions. (SD)

Four studies established the reliability and validity of measures for assessing attitudes toward others and sex typing of self in occupations, activities, and traits. A fifth study provided longitudinal data from children tested 4 times from age 11 to 13 years. Data supported conceptual distinctions among individual's gender attitudes toward…

Examines whether affective perspective taking (the ability to identify and understand another person's feelings) plays a more significant role in altruistic helping than does cognitive perspective taking (the ability to recognize and understand the thoughts of others). This hypothesis is supported by the results of an experiment pairing videotape…

Academic risk taking--the selection of schoollike tasks ranging in difficulty and probability of success--was examined for 602 students in grades 4, 6, and 8 in Taiwan. Results of a self-report measure of tolerance for failure and a risk-taking task are discussed concerning self-enhancement versus self-assessment goals, metacognitive skills, and…

Current thinking of researchers from different disciplines about interaction among students in educational settings and the potential of peer interaction for learning and cognitive development is discussed. Topics of the eight papers presented include: potential outcomes of peer interaction, its nature, peer learning settings, and factors shaping…

Explores the cognitive assessment of classroom learning and emphasizes applications in urban settings for at-risk students. It is argued that cognitive assessment by the classroom teacher is essential to fostering the achievement of cognitive and metacognitive learning that is called for in national reports. (SLD)

Maintains that the effort to develop and implement national standards in the arts is politically correct but not free of psychological or pedagogical viewpoints. Asserts that educators must formulate the right questions and assess objectively the potential outcomes of an arts education program in reformed schools. (CFR)