This study compared the relationships of self-efficacy and reasoning ability to achievement in introductory college biology. Based on the hypothesis that developing formal and postformal reasoning ability is a primary factor influencing self-efficacy, a significant positive correlation was predicted between reasoning ability and degree of…

Investigates the role of complex instructional analogies on concept acquisition in an introductory college genetics course. An experimental treatment included complex instructional analogies. A control group received expository instruction alone. Finds significant differences in student achievement in favor of the experimental group. (Author/MM)

Presents examples using hypothetico-deductive thinking to better teach and understand biology, geology, physics, and chemistry. The examples show that hypothetico-deductive thinking is not new to science as it can be found in research from the Middle Ages. (SAH)

Two hypotheses regarding the relationship between scientific reasoning skills and the use of the inquiry method of instruction in college biology labs were examined. The first hypothesis was that scientific reasoning skills influence an instructor's ability to teach biology using inquiry. The second hypothesis was that the effectiveness with which…

Suggests that students who reason with only concrete thinking patterns may become formal thinkers through the use of the following instructional pattern: (1) the introduction of an undifferentiated whole, (2) differentiation of the whole through concrete experiences, (3) invention of symbolic notation, (4) application of concepts which lead to…

Presents an inquiry activity with a learning cycle approach to engage students in testing their own hypotheses about how molecules move through cell membranes. Offers student materials and teacher materials, including teaching tips for each phase of the learning cycle. (Contains 11 references.) (ASK)

Tests the hypothesis that a fifth stage of intellectual development characterized by the ability to test alternative explanations involving unseen theoretical entities exists. This hypothesis is tested in the context of a nonmajor college-level biology course in which the assumption is made that some students have acquired Stage 5 reasoning…

Introduces the learning cycle method in the context of biology instruction. Includes a theoretical rationale for its use as well as a brief review of key studies that have found it effective. (Author/MM)

Clarifies the difference between the Piagetian Conservation of Liquid Quantity task and the Conservation of Volume task and provides an alternative test for the presence of formal operational thought. (JR)

Investigated and confirmed is a correlation between grades awarded on the basis of students' ability to respond with higher-order cognitive processes in college biology classes and performance on Piagetian-type tasks, in which cognitive style dimension of field dependence-independence was assessed for each student. (CS)

Twenty-three high school biology students using the Biological Sciences Curriculum Study (BSCS) Blue Textbook were administered a weight conservation and two volume conservation tasks. A majority performed below formal-operational level, indicating that these students would be likely to encounter difficuluty with BSCS Blue Version materials. (MLH)

Presents a model of creative and critical thinking in which analogical reasoning is used to link planes of thought and generate ideas that are then tested by employing an "if/and/then" pattern of reasoning. Presents data suggesting that such thinking skills develop first in familiar and observable contexts before they can be used in less familiar…

The study investigated the role of analogic instruction and reasoning level on the dependent measure of concept acquisition in an introductory college genetics course. The question of whether concept acquisition was facilitated through the use of instructional analogies was addressed. The control treatment consisted of expository instruction alone…

Discusses how biology teachers can design or adapt existing laboratory and field experiences to promote reflective thinking and self-regulation of students. (HM)

Presents activities that use the learning cycle to engage students in meaningful inquiries in the study of Mendelian genetics. Includes content-related background and teaching tips for each phase of the learning cycle. (JRH)