The CASE and CAME projects

Since 1984, researchers at King’s College London have been investigating the process of
‘cognitive acceleration’ — the promotion of higher-level thinking. The first main project was
Cognitive Acceleration through Science Education (CASE), which was funded by the Economic
and Social Research Council (1984-87). The project was set in a science context and aimed at
10- to 14-year-olds. Cognitive Acceleration through Mathematics Education (CAME), which
focused first on 10- to 14-year-olds, and then on the upper primary years, was developed during
the period 1993-97.
Although related to particular subject areas and taught (in secondary schools) by the relevant
subject teachers, neither CASE nor CAME made any attempt to cover the content of any
particular science or mathematics curriculum. They were squarely aimed at the development of
general thinking, using the subject areas as convenient contexts for this purpose.