A series of exploratory studies and three experiments dealing with conceptual rule learning are reported in this paper. Discussants related the results to subject matter fields and to educational research and development. Four groups of subjects, five to twelve years old, solved six rule learning problems. It was concluded that younger children solve rule learning problems in a rote fashion, while adults use a strategy based on mediated stimulus groupings. Older children can learn this strategy from indirect experiences, while younger children require direct training of component skills. (Author)