The ability to coherently assess content knowledge throughout an entire undergraduate career represents a significant advantage for programmatic assessment strategies. Chemistry, as a discipline, has an unusual tool in this regard because of the nationally standardized exams from the ACS Exams Institute. These exams are norm-referenced and allow…

This paper describes classroom activities to help students understand the publication cycle and the characteristics of major publication channels (textbooks, books, encyclopedias, and periodicals) for first-year physics students. When designing these activities, the author considered the intellectual development characteristics and the…

Outlines various misconceptions about problem-solving (PS) and several strategies to improve intellectual skills and strategies. Also describes the Covington Productive Thinking Program (designed to help develop PS skills) and several lesson problem sets from this series of 15 books. (JN)

Describes William Perry's scheme of intellectual development, focusing on the first five stages or positions collectively termed "ways of knowing." Suggests applications of this scheme for science teaching. (DS)

Psychological equilibration (internal mental process by which individuals develop intellectually) is discussed in terms of its origin in the biological theory of evolution and in the thinking of Jean Piaget. The importance of equilibration theory for biology instruction is then considered. (Author/JN)

Argues that much of current science curricula and instructional strategies do not accommodate the thinking and reasoning capabilities of students. Level of capacity for abstract logical reasoning, whether the capacity can be cultivated/enhanced, consequences of mismatched intellectual levels and instructional modes, and what thinking/reasoning…

The level of thinking that is characteristic of the typical college freshman and the skills needed by college science courses are addressed, and the Development of Reasoning in Science project (Project DORIS) at California State University, Fullerton, is described. While the typical college freshman functions at the concrete level of thinking,…

Examines thought processes closely linked with intellectual development and transcending boundaries of many disciplines. Among the topics discussed are: nonuniform change without calculus; discrimination between observation and inference; asking one's own questions; hypothetico-deductive reasoning; and types of knowledge. (JM)

Presents ideas to promote higher-level thinking in general chemistry classrooms/laboratories, focusing on applications of Patricia E. Blosser's taxonomy to enhance students' convergent/divergent/evaluative thinking. Compares Blosser's taxonomy with Bloom and Piagetian taxonomies, suggesting a combined Blosser/Piagetian taxonomy to achieve goals of…

Describes the contents of a book entitled The Care and Feeding of Ideas: A Guide to Encouraging Creativity which considers the thinking process, why skills need to be developed, and how students use or should use these thinking skills. (RT)

In an integrated four-course sequence, Colorado School of Mines engineering and science students work on open-ended, real-world problems prepared by government agencies and private companies that interact as clients with student teams. The program fosters intellectual development, teamwork, and communication skills. (Author/MSE)

Outlines the constructivist model of knowledge and describes how this model relates to Piaget's theory of intellectual development. Contrasts the constructivist model with the traditional views of knowledge. Discusses how this model can help explain some of the things that happen in chemistry classrooms. (TW)