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Rationale and Objectives The ACR Breast Commission conducted a member survey to evaluate current practices of reporting breast arterial calcification (BAC) on mammography and to determine perceptions about the value of BAC communication and follow-up recommendations among radiologists. Materials and Methods In September 2020, an 18-item online survey was emailed to radiologist members of the American College of Radiology (ACR). Questions included radiologist demographics, current BAC reporting practices, follow-up recommendations, and perceptions about BAC. Five-point Likert scales were used and multivariate analysis was performed. Results Of 598 completed survey responses, up to 87% (522/598) of ACR radiologist members include BAC in mammogram reports. However, only 41% (212/522) of respondents report BAC ‘always’ or ‘most of the time’. Radiologist factors significantly associated with BAC reporting include years in practice and fellowship training with those in practice longer more likely to report BAC (OR 1.10, 95% CI, [1.01-1.20], p = 0.023) and those with fellowship training less likely to report BAC (OR 0.63, 95% CI, [0.42-0.94], p = 0.024). When BAC is reported, 69% (360/522) simply indicate the presence of BAC, 23% (121/522) provide a subjective grading of BAC burden, and 1% (6/522) calculate a BAC score. Among the radiologists reporting BAC, 58% (301/522) make no subsequent recommendations, while the remainder recommend primary care follow-up (39%; 204/522), cardiology evaluation (13%; 68/522), and/or coronary calcium scoring CT (11%; 59/522). Overall, there was agreement from 66% (392/598) of respondents that BAC is a cardiovascular risk factor. However, there was no consensus on whether patients and/or providers should be informed about BAC or whether reporting of BAC should become a standardized practice in breast imaging. Older and more experienced radiologists are more likely to agree that BAC is a cardiovascular risk factor (p = 0.022), providers should be informed about BAC (p = 0.002 and 0.006), BAC reporting should be a standardized practice (p = 0.004 and 0.001), and feel more comfortable informing patients about BAC (p = 0.001 and 0.003). Conclusion Radiologists’ reporting practices and perceptions regarding BAC are not homogeneous. Although many radiologists report BAC to varying degrees, it is not routinely reported or recommended for follow-up in mammogram reports. Experienced radiologists are more likely to include and value BAC in their breast imaging practice.

Breast cancer screening recommendations for transgender and gender nonconforming individuals are based on the sex assigned at birth, risk factors, and use of exogenous hormones. Insufficient evidence exists to determine whether transgender people undergoing hormone therapy have an overall lower, average, or higher risk of developing breast cancer compared to birth-sex controls. Furthermore, there are no longitudinal studies evaluating the efficacy of breast cancer screening in the transgender population. In the absence of definitive data, current evidence is based on data extrapolated from cisgender studies and a limited number of cohort studies and case reports published on the transgender community. The American College of Radiology Appropriateness Criteria are evidence-based guidelines for specific clinical conditions that are reviewed annually by a multidisciplinary expert panel. The guideline development and revision include an extensive analysis of current medical literature from peer reviewed journals and the application of well-established methodologies (RAND/UCLA Appropriateness Method and Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation or GRADE) to rate the appropriateness of imaging and treatment procedures for specific clinical scenarios. In those instances where evidence is lacking or equivocal, expert opinion may supplement the available evidence to recommend imaging or treatment.

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is defined as physical violence, sexual violence, stalking, or psychological harm by a current or former intimate partner. In the United States, one in three women will experience a form of IPV in their lifetime. Screening for IPV at breast imaging centers provides an important opportunity to identify and assist affected women. Breast imaging centers provide a private environment where passive and active IPV screening methods can be employed. In addition, when obtaining a mammogram or breast ultrasound, the patient’s upper chest is exposed, which could demonstrate patterns of abuse. This article discusses the need for IPV screening, via both passive and active methods, and implementation steps for breast imaging centers.

The transition from trainee to newly minted breast radiologist is exciting and daunting in equal measure. The early years in practice are pivotal to long-term success in breast imaging whether entering academic or nonacademic practice. Yet a paucity of literature exists to guide junior radiologists in their early career transition. New breast radiologists can successfully navigate the start of a prosperous and enriching career by implementing strategies adapted from the business world and collective wisdom from the radiology world. This article provides an outline of tips and habits for new radiologists to incorporate in their work lives as attendings to ensure that they will thrive in breast imaging for years to come.

Objective To determine the diagnostic accuracy of MRI textural analysis (TA) to differentiate malignant from benign axillary lymph nodes in patients with breast cancer. Methods This was an institutional review board–approved retrospective study of axillary lymph nodes in women with breast cancer that underwent ultrasound-guided biopsy and contrast-enhanced (CE) breast MRI from January 2015 to December 2018. TA of axillary lymph nodes was performed on 3D dynamic CE T1-weighted fat-suppressed, 3D delayed CE T1-weighted fat-suppressed, and T2-weighted fat-suppressed MRI sequences. Quantitative parameters used to measure TA were compared with pathologic diagnoses. Areas under the curve (AUC) were calculated using receiver operating characteristic curve analysis to distinguish between malignant and benign lymph nodes. Results Twenty-three biopsy-proven malignant lymph nodes and 24 benign lymph nodes were analyzed. The delayed CE T1-weighted fat-suppressed sequence had the greatest ability to differentiate malignant from benign outcome at all spatial scaling factors, with the highest AUC (0.84–0.93), sensitivity (0.78 [18/23] to 0.87 [20/23]), and specificity (0.76 [18/24] to 0.88 [21/24]). Kurtosis on the 3D delayed CE T1-weighted fat-suppressed sequence was the most prominent TA parameter differentiating malignant from benign lymph nodes (P < 0.0001). Conclusion This study suggests that MRI TA could be helpful in distinguishing malignant from benign axillary lymph nodes. Kurtosis has the greatest potential on 3D delayed CE T1-weighted fat-suppressed sequences to distinguish malignant and benign lymph nodes.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate providers' ordering practices and perceptions of breast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in an academic network in order to better understand and educate a referral base. An online survey was distributed to primary care providers (PCPs) and specialists in our hospital and community practices. Questions included provider demographics, current ordering practices, challenges to ordering, and perceptions about breast MRI. Of 525 ordering providers, 134 responded (26% response rate). Of 134 providers, 57 (42%) order breast MRI in practice. Of those who do not, the most consistent reason was a lack of familiarity with the use of breast MRI (32/77 [42%] of cases). Of 57 cases, 45 (79%) order less than 10 exams annually. The most frequent indication is for high-risk screening (40/47 [84%]). PCPs order fewer breast MRI compared with specialists (P = 0.01). Both PCPs and specialists have mixed perceptions of the clinical utility of breast MRI. However, 30% of all providers are ordering more breast MRI since the enactment of breast density legislation in Massachusetts. Furthermore, 29% report they would order breast MRI more often to screen women with dense breasts if there was a low cost option. Referring provider surveys are useful tools for assessing a radiology practice. Our study suggests a growing clinical interest in breast MRI for screening; however, there is a need for provider education on the clinical utility of breast MRI. Increasing the radiologist's role in targeted educational interventions may help improve awareness and lead to more appropriate utilization of resources.

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To evaluate the diagnostic performance of abbreviated MRI (AB-MRI) in comparison to a full protocol MRI (FP-MRI) when evaluating common MRI abnormalities of a mass, non-mass enhancement and focus.This retrospective reader study was Institutional Review Board approved and Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) compliant. AB-MRIs were reviewed from May 2018-December 2019 to identify women with an abnormal AB-MRI, FP-MRI within six months of the AB-MRI and an elevated risk for breast cancer. Six breast radiologists initially interpreted and recorded findings from the AB-MRI. Immediately after reviewing the AB-MRI, the same radiologists interpreted and recorded findings from the FP-MRI. Findings were recorded in an electronic data collection form. Cohen's Kappa test was used to calculate agreement. P 0.05 was considered statistically significant.Of 119 patients who had an AB-MRI, our final study comprised of 32 patients who had 64 breast MRIs (32 AB-MRI and 32 FP-MRI). The amount of fibroglandular tissue for AB-MRI and FP-MRI showed excellent intra-reader agreement [Kappa: 0.89-1.00 (P 0.0001)]. Substantial to excellent intra-reader agreement [Kappa: 0.74-0.93 (P 0.0001)] was demonstrated for all 6 readers when identifying abnormalities seen on AB-MRI and FP-MRI. Moderate to excellent intra-reader agreement [Kappa: 0.41-0.87(P 0.0001)] was demonstrated between the AB-MRI and FP-MRI for the final BI-RADS assessment.AB-MRI has acceptable intra-reader agreement with FP-MRI when characterizing common MRI abnormalities such as a mass, non-mass enhancement and focus suggesting that subsequent FP-MRI may not be needed.

To investigate whether textural analysis (TA) of MRI heterogeneity may play a role in the clinical assessment and classification of breast tumors.For this retrospective study, patients with breast masses ≥1 cm on contrast-enhanced MRI were obtained in 69 women (mean age: 51 years; range 21-78 years) with 77 masses (38 benign, 39 malignant) from 2006 to 2018. The selected single slice sagittal peak post-contrast T1-weighted image was analyzed with commercially available TA software [TexRAD Ltd., UK]. Eight histogram TA parameters were evaluated at various spatial scaling factors (SSF) including mean pixel intensity, standard deviation of the pixel histogram (SD), entropy, mean of the positive pixels (MPP), skewness, kurtosis, sigma, and Tx_sigma. Additional statistical tests were used to determine their predictiveness.Entropy showed a significant difference between benign and malignant tumors at all textural scales (p 0.0001) and kurtosis was significant at SSF = 0-5 (p = 0.0026-0.0241). The single best predictor was entropy at SSF = 4 with AUC = 0.80, giving a sensitivity of 95% and specificity of 53%. An AUC of 0.91 was found using a model combining entropy with sigma, which yielded better performance with a sensitivity of 92% and specificity of 79%.TA of breast masses has the potential to assist radiologists in categorizing tumors as benign or malignant on MRI. Measurements of entropy, kurtosis, and entropy combined with sigma may provide the best predictability.

Mastectomy may be performed to treat breast cancer or as a prophylactic approach in women with a high risk of developing breast cancer. In addition, mastectomies may be performed with or without reconstruction. Reconstruction approaches differ and may be autologous, involving a transfer of tissue (skin, subcutaneous fat, and muscle) from other parts of the body to the chest wall. Reconstruction may also involve implants. Implant reconstruction may occur as a single procedure or as multistep procedures with initial use of an adjustable tissue expander allowing the mastectomy tissues to be stretched without compromising blood supply. Ultimately, a full-volume implant will be placed. Reconstructions with a combination of autologous and implant reconstruction may also be performed. Other techniques such as autologous fat grafting may be used to refine both implant and flap-based reconstruction. This review of imaging in the setting of mastectomy with or without reconstruction summarizes the literature and makes recommendations based on available evidence. The American College of Radiology Appropriateness Criteria are evidence-based guidelines for specific clinical conditions that are reviewed annually by a multidisciplinary expert panel. The guideline development and revision include an extensive analysis of current medical literature from peer reviewed journals and the application of well-established methodologies (RAND/UCLA Appropriateness Method and Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation or GRADE) to rate the appropriateness of imaging and treatment procedures for specific clinical scenarios. In those instances where evidence is lacking or equivocal, expert opinion may supplement the available evidence to recommend imaging or treatment.

Rationale and Objectives Following state and institutional guidelines, our Radiology department launched the “Recover Wisely” for all nonurgent radiology care on May 4, 2020. Our objective is to report our practice implementation and experience of COVID- 19 recovery during the resumption of routine imaging at a tertiary academic medical center. Materials and Methods We used the SQUIRE 2.0 guidelines for this practice implementation. Recover Wisely focused on a data driven, strategic rescheduling and redesigning patient flow process. We used scheduling simulations and meticulous monitoring and control of outpatient medical imaging volumes to achieve a linear restoration to our pre-COVID imaging studies. We had a tiered plan to address the backlog of rescheduled patients with gradual opening of our imaging facilities, while maintaining broad communication with our patients and referring clinicians. Results Recover Wisely followed our anticipated linear modelling. Considering the last 10 weeks in the recovery, outpatient growth was linear with an increase of approximately 172 cases per week, (R 2 =0.97). We achieved an overall recovery of 102% in week 10, as compared to average weekly pre-COVID outpatient volumes. The modalities recovered as follows in outpatient volumes: CT (113%), MRI (101%), nuclear medicine including PET (138%), mammograms (97%), ultrasound (99%) and interventional radiology (106%). When compared to identical 2019 calendar weeks (5/4/20-7/10/20), the total 2020 radiology volume was 11% reduced from the 2019 volume. The reduction in total weighted relative value units was 8% in this time period, as compared to 2019. Conclusion Our department utilized a data-driven, team approach based on our guiding principles to “Recover Wisely”. We created and implemented a methodology that achieved a linear increase in outpatient studies over a 10-week recovery period.

Objective To meet hospital preparedness for the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and ACR recommended delay of all nonemergent tests and elective procedures. The purpose of this article is to report our experience for rescheduling nonemergent imaging and procedures during the pandemic at our tertiary academic institution. Methods We rescheduled the nonemergent imaging and procedures in our hospitals and outpatient centers from March 16 to May 4, 2020. We created a tiered priority system to reschedule patients for whom imaging could be delayed with minimal clinical impact. The radiologists performed detailed chart reviews for decision making. We conducted daily virtual huddles with discussion of rescheduling strategies and issue tracking. Results Using a snapshot during the rescheduling period, there was a 53.4% decrease in imaging volume during the period of March 16 to April 15, 2020, compared with the same time period in 2019. The total number of imaging studies decreased from 38,369 in 2019 to 17,891 in 2020 during this period. Although we saw the largest reduction in outpatient imaging (72.3%), there was also a significant decrease in inpatient (40.5%) and emergency department (48.9%) imaging volumes. Discussion The use of multiple communication channels was critical in relaying the information to all our stakeholders, patients, referring physicians, and the radiology workforce. Teamwork, quick adoption, and adaptation of changing strategies was important given the fluidity of the situation.

Objective To assess patients’ preferences for receiving screening mammogram results via a video message from their radiologist versus the traditional methods. Methods The Institutional Review Board approved this prospective study which enrolled participants from March to May 2019, after written consent was obtained. Two breast radiologists prerecorded video results for normal and abnormal screening mammograms. Women 40 years and older presenting for a screening mammogram who had a prior mammogram and no clinical symptoms were invited to participate in the study. After their mammogram, participants were assigned to obtain results via video message or by traditional methods such as a mailed letter or phone call. Participants then completed an online survey asking questions regarding the method of results delivery. Results Around 80/94 participants ranging in age from 40 to 76 years old responded (85% response rate), of which 73% (58/80) preferred a video message from the radiologist for their mammogram results (p = 0.029). When analyzed by age, the video results were most liked by patients 40-60 years old. When analyzed by education level, participants with a Master's or Bachelor's degree liked receiving their results by video. Discussion Our study suggests that patients in the screening mammography setting may prefer a video message from their radiologist to the traditional methods of delivery, including mailed letters and receiving results from their primary care provider. Video results could potentially be utilized in the delivery of other results of standardized medical tests as a method to offer more timely delivery of results and a personal connection.

This chapter discusses theoretical claims concerning a variety of group–learning procedures and the evidence for the efficacy. Learning is a term with more meanings than there are theorists; however, most would agree on some basic distinctions. In the extreme, the position holds that all "meaningful" conceptual change is self–directs. The opposite extreme from theories of self–directed learning are theories of cognitive development that emphasize other–direction almost exclusively. According to such theories, conceptual development has an essentially social genesis. The term, cooperative learning, is most closely associated with research in educational psychology concerned with alternatives to traditional classroom organizational structure. The support and conflict aspects of cooperative learning settings can be gradually removed from the social plane as they are individualized, internalized, or adopted as independent cognition. It remains to be seen whether children can also benefit from systematic instruction, such as a form of reciprocal teaching, in which modeling and support is given for the acquisition of complex argument rules.

In this chapter, the authors attempt to give some idea of the kinds of issues that developmental psychologists are concerned with when they speak of metacognitive aspects of performance and how these might be related to reading. They focus on ideas for future research rather than on a description of work already completed. One major justification for studying metacognitive skills is that they do appear to have "ecological validity"; that is, there are recognizable counterparts in "real-world, everyday life" situations. Metacognitive deficiencies are the problem of the novice, regardless of age. Metacognition refers to the deliberate conscious control of one's own cognitive actions. The skills of metacognition are those attributed to the executive in many theories of human memory and machine intelligence, predicting, checking, monitoring, reality testing, and coordination and control of deliberate attempts to study, learn, or solve problems.

This chapter concentrates on one aspect of thinking that Nelson ignores, one sensitive to developmental stage within his culture, and degree of formal schooling in other cultures, in order to put Nelson's contribution into developmental perspective. It considers the effects of formal schooling on different kinds of knowing and then focuses on Nelson's concern with the fundamental continuity of thought throughout development. The chapter also focuses on the issue of conscious control, for, whereas it may be true that the basic equilibration processes of assimilation and accommodation remain constant across the life span, as Nelson suggests, voluntary exploitation and control of the knowledge people have is an extremely sensitive index of developmental maturity. While Nelson focused on the development of the "structure" of the knowledge base, the chapter considers the problem of the executive "processes", for not only does the knowledge base undergo qualitative transformations with ontogenesis, but so does the strategic systems employed in the service of acquiring.

The purpose of this study was to determine whether mammography adds clinical value in the diagnostic imaging workup of women 30 years old and older who present with palpable breast lumps.We retrospectively identified the records of all women 30 years old and older who underwent imaging evaluation with mammography and ultrasound for a palpable lump between January 1, 2009, and December 31, 2010. Imaging reports were reviewed for findings related to the lump and for incidental nonpalpable findings. Benign versus malignant outcomes were determined by pathologic analysis or 24-month imaging or clinical follow-up. The contribution of mammography to final diagnosis was assessed on the basis of objective criteria to determine the clinical impact of mammographic findings.The study cohort included 861 patients presenting with 935 palpable lumps. Imaging correlates were reported for 568 of 935 (60.7%) lumps, and imaging findings were negative in 367 of 935 (39.3%). Of the 935 palpable lumps, 858 (91.8%) were benign and 77 (8.2%) were malignant. Mammography added clinical value in the evaluation of 27 of 77 (35.0%) malignant lumps by better delineating extent of disease and in the evaluation of 26 of 858 benign lumps (3.0%) by confirming benignity. Fifty-two of 861 (6.0%) patients had incidental findings that led to a recommendation for biopsy. Twenty-nine of the 52 findings were originally seen with mammography and 23 with ultrasound. Mammography also depicted seven incidental malignancies in nonpalpable areas, and ultrasound depicted one incidental malignancy.Adjunct mammography is warranted for evaluation of palpable breast lumps in women 30 years old and older because of the value added to clinical management. In all age cohorts, mammography contributed to delineation of disease extent, detection of incidental malignancies, and confirmation of benign diagnoses.

These studies explore the degree to which preschool children employ teleological-functional reasoning ‐ reasoning based on the assumption of function and design ‐ when making inferences about animal behavior. Using a triad induction method, Study 1 examined whether a sensitivity to biological function would lead children to overlook overall similarity and instead attend to relevant functional cues (in the presence of overall dissimilarity), as a basis for generalizing behavioral properties to unfamiliar animals. It found that, between 3 and 4 years of age, children, with increasing consistency, attend to functional features rather than overall similarity when drawing inferences about animal behavior. Children’s ability to describe the relevance of functional adaptations to animal behavior also increased with age. Study 2 explored whether Study 1 findings might result from stimulus biases in favor of the function-based choice. It found that children’s attention shifted from functional features to overall similarity when generalizing labels rather than behaviors with the same triads. These results are discussed in relation to the development of biological knowledge.

Researchers in cognitive science are producing exciting new knowledge about how the human brain functions and how people acquire knowledge and develop understanding. At the same time, educators and policy makers are working hard to reform science and mathematics education around high standards for student learning. The interaction of these two trends has made it possible and desirable to design science curricula and instructional practices grounded in solid research about how people learn. The ultimate success of these advances depends on whether they will produce change in real learning environments. The series of papers in this special issue represent some of the best current thinking about how to accomplish that goal. Four papers (Carey, Miller, Gelman, and Schauble & Lehrer) present a range of developmental issues that are involved in effective learning. They discuss the facilitation of symbolic cognitive representation that is needed for science and mathematics. Two papers (Dunbar and Bransford et al.) identify and discuss issues of expertise and experts' learning and the supporting environments that enable scientific thinking. A set of three papers on tertiary learning (Redish, Chapman, and Larkin) round out the discussion of the development of students' scientific reasoning. A set of commentaries (Simon, Glaser, and Shulman) on the growth of scientific thought conclude the discussion.

This study explored the influence of offering different instructions to undergraduate students prior to their learning an expository text on evolutionary biology. Participants were asked to either explain, summarize, or listen to another's explanation or summary of Darwin's theory of evolution through natural selection. Three conditions were compared: In Condition 1, students were told to study the text because they were going to teach the contents of the text to their partner by either explaining or summarizing (these are referred to as the teach through explanation or summary conditions). In Condition 2, 2 different groups of participants were told to study the identical material on evolution and either explain or summarize the contents of the text aloud to the experimenter following the study period. However, they were only told to do so after they were finished studying for themselves. These are referred to as the explain or summarize to self conditions. In Condition 3, 2 different groups did not read...

Very little data are available from population-based studies on congenital hypothyroidism (CH) epidemiology and patterns of associated birth defects. By linking data from two population-based registries, we describe the epidemiology of CH and associated defects in Atlanta from 1979-1992. Cases included all infants with CH born from 1979-1992 to mothers residing in the metropolitan Atlanta area at the time of birth. We ascertained CH cases by reviewing newborn screening records and records of the Metropolitan Atlanta Congenital Defects Program (MACDP), a population-based registry of all serious birth defects diagnosed during a child's first year of life. We linked CH cases with MACDP records to ascertain the presence of serious birth defects among infants with CH. Of 97 infants identified with CH through newborn screening and/or MACDP (1:5,000 live births), 87 had primary CH and 10 had secondary. The rate of primary CH was higher among non-hispanic whites than among blacks (1:4,400 vs. 1:10,000) and among females compared with males (1:4,000 vs. 1:7,700). Among infants with primary CH, 77 had isolated CH, 3 had Down syndrome, and 7 had unrelated major structural defects. Based on Atlanta population rates of Down syndrome and major structural anomalies, we infer i) infants with Down syndrome have a 35-fold increased risk for primary CH compared with infants in the general population (P < .0001); ii) infants with primary CH have a 2.2-fold increased risk for major structural anomalies (P < .05). Because this is the first population study of CH in the United States in which data from two population-based registries were linked, the epidemiologic patterns and associated defects are more representative than those found in studies based on newborn screening records only.

In this chapter, we describe an approach to the assessment of academic status. The goals of the enterprise are to devise assessments that complement the information afforded by standard tests of ability and achievement, and to develop evaluations that can serve to inform instruction. The approach is an attempt to integrate several different lines of research having to do with: (a) dynamic assessment methods; (b) the centrality and interpretation of learning and transfer processes; and (c) the distinction between domain-specific and domain-general processing capabilities. In the remainder of this section, we outline the rationale underlying dynamic assessment approaches in general, enumerate the theoretical reasons for concentrating on learning and transfer processes as indicants of individual differences, and consider the implications of the domain-specific-domain-general controversy for assessment.

Previous research has found positive correlations between particular strategies students use while studying to explain instructional materials to themselves and student performance on associated problem-solving tasks (Chi, Bassok, Lewis, Reimann, & Glaser, 1989; Pirolli & Bielaczyc, 1989; Pirolli & Recker, 1994). In the study reported here, we investigate the causal nature of this relation. This was accomplished by identifying a set of self-explanation and self-regulation strategies used by high-performance students in our earlier studies. We used strategy training to manipulate students' application of these strategies and examined the impact of their use on student explanations and performance. Twenty-four university students with no prior programming experience worked through a sequence of programming lessons. Following introductory lessons, participants received interventions involving explicit training in the strategies (instructional group) or received a similar set of interventions but no explicit ...

Dans cet article nous décrivons l'évolution d'un environnement d'apprentissage désigné par le terme de Communauté d'apprenants, à partir d'une recherche en laboratoire, en passant par un programme de compréhension de l'écrit, pour aboutir à une nouvelle manière de concevoir la classe. Nous estimons que la planification et l'évaluation du travail de la classe doivent s'élaborer sur la base d'une théorie rénovée de l'apprentissage et que nos efforts doivent se centrer sur l'approfondissement de cette théorie. Le projet d'une communauté d'apprenants discuté ici a pour but d'initier de jeunes élèves à des activités de recherche, à la sélection de leurs sujets d'enquêtes, à la gestion de leur propre apprentissage à long terme et au partage de leur compétence avec les autres membres de la communauté. Les principaux aspects de la Communauté d'apprenants décrits sont 1) les activités fondamentales qui soutiennent les étudiants dans leurs efforts de recherche ; 2) les propriétés fonctionnelles et structurelles d'une communauté « idéale » dans le cadre de la classe ; 3) la nature d'un programme susceptible de favoriser les activités de recherche des enfants ; 4) les types de résultats obtenus ; 5) les moyens d'étendre le programme au delà du cadre de la classe. Nous concluons par une analyse des points forts et des points faibles d'une communauté d'apprenants et par un débat sur la nécessité d'une théorie de l'apprentissage et du développement qui guide les approches futures. Enfin, nous répertorions les principes d'apprentissage que nous considérons comme essentiels pour l'établissement d'environnements d'apprentissage efficaces., Brown Ann L., Campione Joseph C. Concevoir une communauté de jeunes élèves. Leçons théoriques et pratiques. In: Revue française de pédagogie, volume 111, 1995. Psychologie de l'éducation : Nouvelles approches américaines. pp. 11-33.

(1992). Design Experiments: Theoretical and Methodological Challenges in Creating Complex Interventions in Classroom Settings. Journal of the Learning Sciences: Vol. 2, No. 2, pp. 141-178.

Children's performance in the classical a:b::c:d analogy task is traditionally very poor prior to the Piagetian stage of formal operations. The interpretation has been that the ability to reason about higher-order relations (the relations between the a:b and c:d parts of the analogy) is late-developing. However, an alternative possibility is that the relations used to date in the analogies are too difficult for younger children. Two experiments presented children aged 3, 4 and 6 years with a:b::c:d analogies which were based on relations of physical causality such as melting and cutting, for example chocolate bar: melted chocolate:: snowman:melted snowman. Understanding of these particular causal relations is known to develop between the ages of 3 and 4 years. It was found that even 3-years-olds could solve the classical analogies if they understood the causal relations on which they were based.

In this paper I discuss the curious lack of contact between developmental psychologists studying the principles of early learning and those concentrating on later learning in children, where predispositions to learn certain types of concepts are less readily discussed. Instead, there is tacit agreement that learning and transfer mechanisms are content-independent and age-dependent. I argue here that one cannot study learning and transfer in a vacuum and that children's ability to learn is intimately dependent on what they are required to learn and the context in which they must learn it. Specifically, I argue that children learn and transfer readily, even in traditional laboratory settings, if they are required to extend their knowledge about causal mechanisms that they already understand. This point is illustrated In a series of studies with children from 1 to 3 years of age learning about simple mechanisms of physical causality (pushing-pulling, wetting, cutting, etc.). In addition, I document children's difficulty learning about causally impossible events, such as pulling with strings that do not appear to make contact with the object they are pulling. Even young children transfer on the basis of deep structural principles rather than perceptual features when they have access to the requisite domain-specific knowledge. I argue that a search for causal explanations is the basis of broad understanding, of wide patterns of generalization, and of flexible transfer and creative inferential projections-in sum, the essential elements of meaningful learning.

Among the major creations of psychological theory in this century has been the notion of an individual intelligence quotient (IQ) and the means for measuring it. Enthusiasm for this invention, however, has been less than universal (Gould 1981); some regard it as a crowning accomplishment of psychological theory, while others see IQ tests as instruments for reinforcing social injustice.

In this paper we describe the place of computers in a classroom designed to introduce students to an integrated curriculum in which they read and write in order to acquire and understand scientific content. We outline the ways in which students and teachers in different classroom contexts used the computers, and present some of the early results that have been obtained.

A popular explanation of younger children's success in analogy tasks is that lower-level associative reasoning strategies are used. Younger children are said to have a primarily associative understanding of analogy, with the ability to coordinate sets of relations largely emerging later in development (Goldman, Pellegrino, Parseghian, & Sallis, 1982; Sternberg & Nigro, 1980). One way of testing the associative claim is to pit young children's emergent analogical abilities against thematic (associative) relations, which are known to play an important role in the knowledge structures of young children. The present experiments presented 4-, 5- and 9-year-old children with a:b::c:d analogies in a picture choice format, offering a choice between Analogy and Thematic responses. Only the Analogy responses were correct in terms of the higher-order structure of the analogies. The results showed that the Analogy responses were consistently preferred to the Thematic responses by children of all ages. It is concluded that analogy is an important building block for learning from an early age.

Based on an invited address given by the first author at the annual meetings of the American Educational Research Association in Boston, April 1980.

BROWN, ANN L., and FRENCH, LUCIA A. Construction and Regeneration of Logical Sequences Using Causes or Consequences as the Point of Departure. CHILD DEVELOPMENT, 1976, 47, 930-940. In the first of 2 studies concerned with the concept of temporal sequence, kindergarten, second-, and fourth-grade children were required to seriate sets of 4 temporal sequences presented simultaneously. On half the sets they were required to complete the outcome and on half the precipitating event in the sequence. Children above 7 years performed equally well when finding either causes or consequences, but below this age children performed reliably better when finding consequences. In the second study children were required to recall sequences when given either the initial, middle, or terminal item as a retrieval cue. Again, above 7 years children performed equally well regardless of the point in the sequence offered as a retrieval cue, while younger children recalled more events when offered the initial item. The data are discussed in relation to examples of semilogical thought which characterizes reasoning at the transitional stage between the preoperational and concrete operational periods.

Preschool to fourth grade subjects were required to reconstruct a previously seen logical sequence by selecting old items from a set containing actually seen events and two types of new items, those consistent or inconsistent with the ordered sequence of the story. Older children were more efficient at adopting a consistent choice strategy, at rejecting inconsistent items and at retaining the end-anchor items of the story. When performance on the old anchor items was excluded, however, all grades had difficulty distinguishing the new-consistent items from the actually experienced old items. It is suggested that memory for logical narrative sequences involves the retention of the gist or theme in an integrated unified representation of the meaning rather than a series of discrete events. Further, the underlying processes of integration and inference are stable across ages.

The development of the ability to use macrorules for paraphrasing expository texts was examined in a series of three studies. In the first, older high school and college student were able to use sophisticated condensation rules, such as invention and integration, in contrast to the fifth and seventh graders who relied on a more simple copy-delete strategy. In the second study, experts, college rhetoric teachers, outperformed freshman college student in their ability to combine information across paragraphs and in their propensity to provide a synopsis in their own words. Following the consideration of experts, we examined novicesm junior college students who performed on a level set by normal seventh graders, confirming the general impression that such students experience particular problems with critical reading and effective studying.