Reports results of a study investigating the ability of college students to solve problems using proportional reasoning. Also discusses implications for consideration of Piagetian cognitive level of students in planning college courses. (CS)

Investigates the effect of a directed-inquiry approach to learning science process skills and scientific problem solving in the high school biology laboratory. Reports no main effect of the approach but an interaction effect of the approach and cognitive development. (Author/YP)

Examines 11 elementary science texts in terms of conceptual structure and reasoning demands using concept maps. Reports that (1) the conceptual structures vary widely across texts; (2) most of the structures are well defined; and (3) the reasoning demands are above the developmental capabilities of most of primary-level children. (Author/YP)

Reports on a study intended to determine the science education research interests of elementary teachers and to examine the data according to certain demographic variables. Results indicate that hands-on experience, science content, cognitive development and learning styles, problem solving, and teaching strategies were the top five research…

Level of operational thinking required (cognitive demand) for concepts or problems and test items on the mole concept was determined and compared to the Piagetian levels of thinking of 71 students. Pupil cognitive level was positively associated with overall unit test scores and with percent success on all test items. (Author/SK)

Early adolescents may lack the cognitive and metacognitive skills necessary for effective inquiry learning. In particular, they are likely to have a nonnormative mental model of multivariable causality in which effects of individual variables are neither additive nor consistent. Described here is a software-based intervention designed to…