The Cognitive‐Developmental Approach to Morality: a Reply to Kurtines and Greif

Abstract

This papers confronts the social‐psychological problem of the relation between values and persons in everyday life. For this purpose simple operational definitions, as used in psychometric work, are not adequate. There must be a clear conception of the person, as an individual, in a social setting. A model which meets these requirements, with seven components, is described. This is used to illustrate what ‘having values’ might mean. Three applications are briefly outlined.     

Kohl berg's Cognitive‐Developmental Theory in Educational Settings: Some Possible Abuses

Abstract

Kohlberg's cognitive‐developmental theory provides teachers with a framework for understanding the change and development of moral judgment and decision‐making of their pupils. One major abuse, however, may be when teachers take the stage labels associated with the hypothesized stage levels of moral judgment as indicative of static student qualities or characteristics, by placing more emphasis on perceived and labelled qualities than on the actual moral reasoning of the student. This, it is suggested, together with some empirical examples, may obscure the developmental trend of the student's moral judgment or even affect the teacher's expectations and consequently student's performance, and fails to take into account such factors as environment and interpersonal interaction. A study is reported in which curriculum consultants exposed to moral development theory were tested to determine whether they would use Kohlbergian labels of stage content or actual moral reasoning when required to make assessments. Suggestions are put forward as to how moral development theory can be more closely linked to pedagogy.     

Cognitive‐Preference Testing in the Natural Sciences‐‐Some Question‐Marks

Summaries

English

Cognitive‐preference measurements have in recent years become a major research area, with particular reference to curriculum evaluation work. Several questions concerning the nature of cognitive preferences and their measurement have so far remained unsolved. The author indentifies and discusses some of these in this article.     

“Seeing the Light”: A Cognitive Approach to the Metaphorical in Picture Books

Picture books, as both sophisticated aesthetic objects and literary texts, provide the ideal site for critically examining how values and ideology are transmitted to children. How the child reader might be affected by the process of reading a picture book—that is, how he or she might be moved emotionally and potentially gain new insights about the world—is of interest to scholars and educators alike. This article draws upon cognitive literary theory as a conceptual frame through which to explore the cognitive and emotional affect that reading may have upon children. “Reader response” and “cultural criticism” are approaches to literature that seek to understand how readers interact with texts. Cognitive theory, when applied to literature, builds on these discourses by focusing on why reading fiction might cause the brain to produce emotional and cognitive responses in readers. As metaphors are a feature of language and of thought, a study of the metaphorical in picture books aptly lends itself to the theoretical framework offered by cognitive literary theory. Drawing on examples from four picture books produced for children, broadly correlating to different developmental stages, this article examines the role of metaphor in encouraging skills in decoding and creative thinking. Talking to children about visual metaphor or metaphorical expression introduces them to a feature of language and thought that provides a conceptual frame for richer understanding and expression of ideas. Examining how the metaphorical operates in picture books thus takes us a step closer to understanding how the process of reading affects children and enriches their lives.     

Concept Maps in the Classroom: A New Approach to Reveal Students’ Conceptual Change

ABSTRACT

When entering the classroom, adolescents already hold various conceptions on science topics. Concept maps may function as useful tools to reveal such conceptions although labor-intensive analysis often prevents application in typical classroom situations. The authors aimed to provide teachers with an appropriate approach to analyze students’ concept maps within daily school routine. They intended to conclude qualitative changes from analyzing quantitative parameters. To test the approach, high school students were asked to map their conceptions before and after attending an educational program on climate change. For the analyses, quantitative as well as qualitative methods were applied. A comparison of pre- and postmaps pointed to a conceptual change. From strong correlations between qualitative and quantitative parameters we assumed our approach to be applicable. Due to its simple and barely time-consuming handling, the authors’ approach is suitable for application in conventional classroom situations and may contribute to inform teachers about students’ conceptions.     

Some Restrictions On the use of the Communicative Approach in China

The Communicative Approach is now a fashionable topic in China,Is it suitable in China′s ELT？After some considerations on its advantages and disadvantages，as well as some discussions on China′s specific features while applying it，my paper argues that it can′t shoulde the heavy task of China′s ELT.     

A Cognitive Approach to Metaphors in Robert Frost’s Poetry

According to Lakoff et al, metaphor is the main mechanism through which we comprehend abstract concepts and per?form abstract reasoning. As a great poet, Robert Frost realized the cognitive functions o...     

A Cognitive Approach to Metaphors in Robert Frost’s Poetry

According to Lakoff et al, metaphor is the main mechanism through which we comprehend abstract concepts and perform abstract reasoning. As a great poet, Robert Frost realized the cognitive functions of metaphors and used them frequently and skillfully in his poetry. By doing so, he was able to convey abstract and philosophical reflections through simple language and enrich the theme of his poetry. This thesis conducts a survey of the definitions of metaphors and makes an analysis of the metaphors employed by Frost in his poetry, trying to answer two questions: 1) How does the use of metaphor help to convey the poet’s abstract and profound philosophical reflections? 2) How does the use of metaphor help to enrich the themes of Frost’s poetry?     

How to Tackle the Problems in Large Classes

本文通过对大班英语教学环境的分析,介绍了三种大班英语授课的方法及具体措施.这些方法是多年英语教学经验的总结,主要通过师生互动、创设语言学习环境和教学管理相结合的模式,提高大班英语授课的教学效果.     

Exploring the Development of Conceptual Understanding through Structured Problem‐solving in Physics

A study on the effect of a structured problem‐solving strategy on problem‐solving skills and conceptual understanding of physics was undertaken with 189 students in 16 disadvantaged South African schools. This paper focuses on the development of conceptual understanding. New instruments, namely a solutions map and a conceptual index, are introduced to assess conceptual understanding demonstrated in students’ written solutions to examination problems. The process of the development of conceptual understanding is then explored within the framework of Greeno’s model of scientific problem‐solving and reasoning. It was found that students who had been exposed to the structured problem‐solving strategy demonstrated better conceptual understanding of physics and tended to adopt a conceptual approach to problem‐solving.     

Developmental Achievements of 7‐year‐old Children in Poland in the Light of International Tests and the Requirements of the Polish Language School Program

The language competence and reading comprehension of 406 7‐year‐old children are examined in the research discussed in this article. The children were tested using comparative tests as part of an international project conducted in 14 countries and sponsored by the IEA and the High Scope Research Foundation in Ypsilanti, USA. The discussion here relates only to a part of this wider research and focuses upon the aims and contents of Polish language teaching in grades I—III of the Polish primary school.     

Some sources for the history of teacher‐training in England and Wales

Abstract:

Though his best‐selling novel of school life Eric, or, Little by Little: A Tale of Roslyn School has over the years been the subject of much attention, the wider educational thought and practice of Frederic William Farrar, teacher, novelist, scientist, classicist, theologian, and Dean of Canterbury, has for the most part been neglected by scholars. This paper discusses certain aspects of Farrar the educationist, including his distinctive evangelical attitude toward children; his fervent criticism of the prevailing Classical public school curriculum; his advocacy that much more science be taught; his strong antipathy to corporal and other punishment; his distaste for the increasing athleticism in the public schools; his view of the main purpose of education, namely the inculcation of morality, religious conviction, and intellectual rigor.     

Self‐complexity and Self‐integration: Theory and Therapy in Clinical‐Developmental Psychology

Abstract

The growing field of clinical‐developmental psychology has been influenced by Lawrence Kohlberg's theory of moral judgement. Too literal a use of structural theory, however, has hindered this field's advancement. This paper argues that a new theory of self is required to apply appropriately developmental theory to clinical practice. The model consists of two related dimensions of self: self‐complexity and biographical themes (schemata and themata). A perspective on normal and atypical development given by the interactions between these components is described and implications for practice are discussed.     

Constructing Problems in a Web‐Based Learning Environment

Abstract

This article describes how the World Wide Web was implemented in a graduate course. The interactions that took place among the students and between the students and instructor illustrate how problem‐based learning strategies can be supported by the Web. Of particular note, the course content focused on technology‐based learning, thus students were immersed in an authentic learning environment. The article chronicles the various strategies ? that students implemented to facilitate the problem‐solving process and concludes by way of issues to consider when implementing such strategies within Web‐based learning environments     

Teachers’ Responses to the Ecosystemic Approach to Changing Chronic Problem Behaviour in Schools

This paper discusses the responses of a group of thirty-three primary and two secondary teachers to a series of sessions in which the ecosystemic approach to changing chronic problem behaviour in schools was explained and then tried out in practice. Three case examples are presented, as well as related discussions, which illustrate the approach. This study follows on from the work reported in Pastoral Care, December 1998.     

Self‐esteem in Children with and without Motor Co‐ordination Problems

This article presents results from a study of 36 pupils (8–10 years of age) in face‐to‐face conversations with their teachers about water as an environmental phenomenon based on a photograph of a rainforest. The teachers’ rather vague goal was to have the pupils talk about the water cycle. The sessions were audio‐recorded and analyzed with respect to: (1) scaffolding strategies used by the teachers, (2) possible implications of these strategies on the pupils’ sense‐making, and (3) what accounts of the water cycle as a school‐science learning‐content were made. Three different patterns of scaffolding strategies were found. Some pupils did not even come close to talking about the water cycle, whereas others arrived at a rather fragmented picture.