Somewhat as Piaget proposed the existence of formal operations acting on concrete operational structures, Basseches (1978) has proposed the existence of dialectical operations acting on formal operational structures. Basseches gives a qualitative account of dialectical operations via the enumeration of 24 schemata categorized into four groups:…

J.H. Kranzler and A.R. Jensen report on a reanalysis of previous data that is again inconsistent with the hypothesis that psychometric "g" is unitary. J.B. Carroll reiterates objections to the evidence that Kranzler and Jensen offer in support of a composite "g." (SLD)

Research in cognitive science is providing an increasingly detailed understanding of human cognition. Teachers can help students become conscious of their own reasoning processes and then learn to compare, contrast, interrelate, or coordinate various ways in which they think in order to refine their problem-solving methods. (Author/MLF)

The ideas and practices of two philosopher-educators and their implications for experiential education are surveyed. Earl Kelley holds that learning is not a matter of acquisition and acceptance, but a result of process and subject to continuous modification. He maintains that the educational system disregards and impedes the learner's purpose. He…

This annotated bibliography attempts to answer the following questions: (1) What is criticial thinking? (2) Can it be taught and to whom? (3) Which methods are most practical for teaching critical thinking to secondary students? and (4) Can its acquisition be tested? The first question researches the literature for a definition of the term. The…

Effects on learning of most principal independent variables can be generalized within, but not between, five different categories: intellectual skills, verbal information, cognitive strategies, motor skills, and attitudes. Psychological research has been and continues to be well-served by this categorization. (GC)

This paper deals with the primary processes of cognition in fifth- and sixth-grade children; i.e., how children this age interpret what they see and hear, how they remember it, and how they reason and solve problems. Designed to provide background information for the staff of the Skills Essential to Learning Television Project (a multi-level…

This review of two distinct areas of research--brain research and psycho-epistemology--indicates a possible link between the two which may potentially help to identify an as yet unknown molar trait which could be responsible for divergent opinions regarding teaching and learning theories, and may help to explain differential achievement when these…

Seldom are college students introduced to theories that describe how they and other students change intellectually during their college years. Two epistemological perspectives on cognitive development in college students and how they can be presented to students are examined in this paper. The first perspective is William Perry's forms of…

Provides a literature review of research done in recent years to identify comprehension processes within the reader. (TJ)

Addresses the importance of integrating the intellectual and moral education of gifted students. A framework synthesized from the works of Dewey and Guilford explicates basic structural components of the intellectual and moral dimensions of development. Suggestions for facilitating complex learning through complex teaching and the complex…

Discusses the relationship between Piaget's theory of cognitive development and Perry's theory of intellectual and ethical development, and recommends a framework for their application in course design. Involving students in examining not only course content, but also their beliefs and reasoning patterns, is recommended as a route for improving…

An approach to intelligence which emphasizes domain-specific constraints on knowledge structures is compared to information processing approaches. The evaluation of any cognitive ability as being intelligent crucially depends on prior specification of the formal constraints on the domains of knowledge from which that ability originates. (Author/RD)

The term, "schema," used largely as a descriptive convenience rather than a theoretical guidepost in social psychology is examined through an analysis of its development, function, and structure. This paper articulates a model of schema development in adults by defining a schema as a representation of some stimulus domain and a set of…

A model for the development of elementary and secondary instructional materials covering the broad range of intellectual skills is presented. The document is a result of a search to identify and evaluate existing instructional materials, classification schemes, models, hierarchies, and taxonomies of cognition. It is presented in four sections.…