Extensive research has shown that elementary students struggle to learn the basic principles of length measurement. However, where patterns of errors have been documented, the origins of students' difficulties have not been identified. This study investigated the hypothesis that written elementary mathematics curricula contribute to the…

We examine how extended engagement in argumentation with peers leads to enhanced metalevel understanding of argumentive discourse. Following such engagement, young adolescents demonstrated enhanced understanding of counterargument and use of evidence as objectives of skilled argumentation, relative to a nonparticipating comparison group. Among the…

Past research has shown that readers often fail to notice conflicts in text. In our present study we investigated whether accessing information from multiple documents instead of a single document might alleviate this problem by motivating readers to integrate information. We further tested whether this effect would be moderated by source…

This study investigated how varying the lexical encodings of technical terms in multiple texts influences learners' dyadic processing of scientific-related information. Fifty-seven pairs of college students read journalistic texts on depression. Each partner in a dyad received one text; for half of the dyads the partner's text contained different…

This study used think-aloud methodology to explore undergraduates' spontaneous attention to and use of source information while reading six documents that presented conflicting views on a controversial social scientific issue in a Google-like environment. Results showed that students explicitly and implicitly paid attention to sources of documents…

In two experiments, we examined fourth and fifth graders' comprehension of the source of information in texts presenting controversial issues. In Experiment 1, participants read short texts in which two people presented different arguments regarding an issue. Participants identified who said what and evaluated each source's knowledge of the issue.…

When reading multiple texts about controversial scientific issues, learners must construct a coherent mental representation of the issue based on conflicting information that can be more or less belief-consistent. The present experiment investigated the effects of text-belief consistency on the situation model and memory for text. Students read…

This study explores changes in students' strategies as they solve different types of volume problems. Fifth graders were presented with pictures showing 3D objects and a unit cube; they determined how many cubes made up the object and explained their responses. We examined whether children transferred strategies across problem types, varying in…

Previous research has demonstrated the effectiveness of particular instructional practices that support students' constructions of the partitive unit fraction scheme and measurement concepts for fractions. Another body of research has demonstrated the power of a particular mental operation--the splitting operation--in supporting students'…

We examined science learning and motivation outcomes as a function of children's participation in the classroom and classroom-plus-home components of the Scientific Literacy Project (SLP). The sample was comprised of kindergarten children in 4 low income, neighboring schools. Children in Schools 1 and 2 (n = 120) participated in the SLP science…

New media, new knowledge practices, and concepts point to the need for greater understanding of cognitive processes underlying knowledge acquisition and generation in open informational worlds. The authors of the articles in this special issue address cognitive and instructional challenges surrounding multiple document comprehension--a…

An important goal of history education is the development of a chronological frame of reference that can be used to interpret and date historical images and documents. Despite the importance of this contextualization goal, little is known about the knowledge and strategies that allow students to situate information historically. Two studies were…

In this article, we report two studies investigating what mathematicians value in a pedagogical proof. Study 1 is a qualitative study of how eight mathematicians revised two proofs that would be presented in a course for mathematics majors. These mathematicians thought that introductory and concluding sentences should be included in the proofs,…

Reasoning about mechanisms is one of the hallmarks of disciplined inquiry in science and engineering, but comparatively little is known about its precursors and development. Children at grades 2 and 5 predicted and explained the motion of simple mechanical systems composed entirely of visible linkages (levers). Students' explanations of device…

We illustrate a method, which is modeled on "breaching experiments," for studying tacit norms that govern classroom interaction around particular mathematical content. Specifically, this study explores norms that govern teachers' expectations for the doing of word problems in school algebra. Teacher study groups discussed representations of…