A Piagetian type task, The Island Puzzle, was administered to children grades 5 to 12, to science teachers attending a National Science Teachers Association Convention, and to college physics teachers attending a regional meeting of the American Association of Physics Teachers. The procedures differed from those of Piaget in that the puzzle was…

Cites reasons for the formation and continuance of the Intellectual Development Project ( IDP). The impact of IDP research is described. (CP)

This research study shows that it is possible to advance the use of proportional reasoning of many secondary school students by means of a well-designed teaching program. (MP)

Thirteen to fifteen year-old students from Denmark, Sweden, Italy, United States, Austria, Germany, and Great Britain were the subjects on this study of formal thought processes. Socioeconomic status, sex, and school organization provided additional categorization upon which the subjects were divided. Chi square analysis revealed some differences.…

Reported is a study involving six group administered tasks concerning proportional, probablistic, and correlational reasoning with 505 students aged 11.5 to 20.0 years. Investigated were the effectiveness of the tasks for assessing formal reasoning; categories of classification for students' responses and implications for teaching are suggested by…

In your interactions with secondary school students learning science, you have probably become aware of large differences in student ability to understand science concepts, conduct investigations, and/or solve specific problems. Some students are extremely capable, while others demonstrate peculiar and inappropriate reasoning strategies.…