This study investigates the relationships of domain-general cognitive abilities and domain-specific verbal and mathematical abilities to students' educational characteristics when two theoretically grounded, but competing structural models are applied. In the standard model, a single latent ability causes interindividual differences in the…

Reports the use of a memory load-interference paradigm and the easy-to-hard paradigm as converging operations to study capacity limitations in five- to six-year-old's reasoning. Concludes that transitive inference ability in children is capacity limited. (HOD)

Investigates the effect that manipulation of the extent of formal reasoning required for solving chemistry problems has upon student performance, and presents a cognitive model for the qualitative analysis of that effect. Concludes that the developmental level of students is the most important predictor of problem-solving success given significant…

Critiques an investigation of the possibility of applying a Neo-Piagetian task to music. Contends that the task could be used as a criterion measure in determining a developmental sequence for auditory pitch discrimination. Details the Neo-Piagetian positions that make Piaget's theory more compatible with current cognitive psychology trends. (LS)

Researchers have attempted to develop paper and pencil Piagetian tests that yield results equivalent to manipulative Piagetian tasks and that can be administered in significantly less time. This study is an attempt to partially replicate and extend the findings of research by Paul Ankeny and Lyle Joyce who found significant positive correlations…

To investigate similarity judgements in different cultural contexts, the performance of two groups of children on seven similarity tasks and on two tests of metaphor was compared. The 45 Canadian and 45 Canadian-Greek children (ages 5, 8, and 11) had different cultural and linguistic backgrounds but common schooling experiences. The seven tasks…

The Perry scheme of intellectual and ethical development has become widely used in a range of academic disciplines and such areas as career training and faculty consultation. However, current measurement techniques for the scheme, whether interview format or paper and pencil measures, do not adequately address issues related to assessing cognitive…

Reports an experimental study of 80 ninth grade biology students randomly assigned to treatment and control groups to determine whether the use of human examples in instructional strategies on Mendelian genetics increases acquisition and retention of genetics concepts. Results indicate that use of human examples in contrast to traditional examples…

The decision making processes of children in a probabilistic environment were studied within the context of the theory of signal detection (TSD). The relationship between the age of the child and his ability to revise decision criteria was examined, as well as the appropriateness of TSD measures and methodology with children. It was hypothesized…

Some science educators who are interested in conceptual development have considered the phenomenon of student misconceptions and alternative frameworks. Researchers have used a variety of terms to describe the situation in which students' ideas differ from those of a scientist about a particular concept. This digest was produced to briefly…

When administered to 34 infants with handicaps, Bayley Scale mental age scores were an average of 2.1 months higher than Estimated Developmental Ages (EDA's) calculated from the Uzgiris and Hunt Scales. The EDA's were significantly and positively related to Bayley mental age, and sensorimotor play emerged as the best single correlate. (Author/JDD)

While logical reasoning skills are related to success in science, the relationship between thought and formal logic is not clear. Propositional Logic Test (PLT), error patterns of students' interpretations of logical proposition, and developmental patterns of the error type are described. Examined is the relationship between logical reasoning…

Reports the design of the "Mechanics Baseline Test," an instrument to assess students' understandings about concepts in mechanics. Discusses how comparisons of test results with extensive baseline data can be used to evaluate instruction at all levels. Includes a copy of the instrument. (MDH)

Two studies on cognitive performance in mentally retarded children are reported. In the first study, the Bayley Scales of Infant Development were administered to 56 mentally retarded children, aged 2 to 6, to determine the possibility of discerning subsets of items that form a developmental pattern of interrelated subscales, using the SCAMMO scale…

A psychometric model called Saltus, which represents the qualitative aspects of hierarchical development in a form applicable to additive measurement, was applied. Both Piaget's theory of cognitive development and Gagne's theory of learning hierarchies were used to establish the common features of hierarchical development: (1) gappiness--the…