Modern schoolchildren are the new digital generation and their preferences for working with information are based on of the dominant sensory modality which can be visual, auditory, and tactile/ kinesthetic. Therefore, to organize effective mathematics teaching it is necessary to use a personalized system of teaching techniques, instructional…

Dual-process theories have been proposed to explain normative and heuristic responses to reasoning and decision-making problems. Standard unitary and dual-process theories predict that normative responses should increase with age. However, research has focused recently on exceptions to this standard pattern, including developmental increases in…

Discusses creativity, play, and nonconformity in children, including the illusion of thought disorder or abnormality, and aspects of everyday creativity, health, and survival. Describes creative divergence, chaotic amplification, the evolution of information, and primitive cognitive processes. Concludes with a discussion of cognitive styles,…

The cognition theories of Piaget as they apply to adults are examined in the light of new theories about the characteristics of formal reasoning abilities and their acquisition over a long life span. (JD)

The aims of this study were (1) to test the dyadic superiority hypothesis by comparing dyadic performance on a logical reasoning task with the performance of children working alone, and (2) to determine whether the incorrect child's compliance with the correct child was a major factor in the dyadic production of correct answers. (Author/DB)

Transitional situations, such as those experienced by work study students, may create cognitive difficulties by requiring people to simultaneously use both a learning and a use logic. To examine this phenomenon, a problem solving task (electrical schemata of a washing machine) was administered to 43 full time students and 51 work study students…

One aspect of Jean Piaget's theory of cognitive development was tested in this research project. It was hypothesized that an adult individual in the concrete stage of development is able to use seriation and classification in dealing with concrete objects, but is unable to think in terms of possibilities. An individual operating on the formal…

Examined children's use of the representativeness heuristic with two types of decision problems adapted from research with adults--standard representativeness problems and conjunction fallacy problems. Findings on both problems indicate the use of decision heuristics in the early grade-school years, and suggests these should be the years for…

Conceptual level is a personal characteristic that describes persons on a developmental hierarchy of increasing conceptual complexity, self-responsibility, and independence. The relationship between gender and conceptual level was explored in a group of 70 male and 63 female college students. The This I Believe Test (TIB) was administered to…

A new concept, relativistic operations, seems to provide a link between Piagetian theory, information processing theory, logical thought in the new physics, and the nature of adults' problem solving in everyday social situations. Relativistic operations are logical, cognitive operations which can be used as a system to relate, order, and select as…

Sex differences on Perry's stages of epistemological development were investigated in a study of 100 freshmen (50 men and 50 women) at a large midwestern university. A semi-structured interview probed six domains related to Perry's theory, including the role of the learner, instructor, and peers in the learning situation, the question of…

Examines developmental differences among children and adults in causal reasoning concerning story characters who were offered various inducements to behave helpfully. Results indicate that external consequences enhanced attributions of internal motivation for kindergartners and reduced such attributions for older subjects. (Author/DB)

Described is a study in which seventh graders used LOGO in place of receiving geometry instruction. It was hypothesized that angle recognition estimation and construction would be higher for the LOGO group. Reports that a difference was found favoring the LOGO group. Provides a short history of the LOGO language. (MVL)

Presented are six activities that help to promote critical and creative student thinking. Activities include discrepant events and questioning, divergent thinking, dilemma discussions, and drawing objects from symbols. Activities can be adapted to any science discipline. (KR)

Papers presented at the 1980 National Conference on Reasoning, Piaget, and Higher Education are presented which address the implications of Piaget's research on the teaching of reasoning skills in higher education. Contents include the following: "Piaget: An Agenda, Not an Answer for the 80s," by Catherine M. Warrick; "Project…