The design and use of a valid and reliable instrument for the assignment of cognitive complexity ratings to chemistry exam items is described in this paper. Use of such an instrument provides a simple method to quantify the cognitive demands of chemistry exam items. Instrument validity was established in two different ways: statistically…

Based on the analysis of available research on students' alternative conceptions about the particulate nature of matter, we identified basic implicit assumptions that seem to constrain students' ideas and reasoning on this topic at various learning stages. Although many of these assumptions are interrelated, some of them seem to change or…

The potential of chemistry to improve one's learning capacity is discussed. (CK)

Approximately 500 nonscience major university chemistry students were surveyed to record their interpretations of specific chemical symbolism before presenting modern concepts of atomic and molecular structure, in an attempt to understand the thought processes entering students use as they interpret symbolism. Results are reported and discussed.…

Investigates the effects of high school chemistry experiences on the use of Piaget's operative structures. Reports that students who took chemistry scored higher than those who did not on a test of Piaget's operative comprehension. (GA)

Reviews Piagetian concepts, the identification of student cognitive level of development, and chemistry instruction. (SL)

Discusses instructor considerations to be made concerning student cognitive development in preparing and teaching introductory chemistry. (SL)

The first part of this publication is a study of students' math skills and logical abilities and their success in an introductory college chemistry course. A 29-item instrument was developed and administered to 343 students. Test scores for students who received either A or B in the course were compared with scores for those who received either D…

The purpose of this study was to develop a procedure for the evaluation of M-demand of chemistry problems. It was shown that dimensional analysis upon the Neo-Piagetian theory of Pascual-Leone could help science teachers to understand the epistemological basis of their discipline. (CW)

Cognitive performance of college students (N=225) on "An Inventory of Piaget: Developmental Tasks" (IPDT) was related to Scholastic Aptitude Tests and performance in both college chemistry lectures and laboratory classes. Relationship of Piagetian tasks to learning and instructional activities in introductory chemistry classes is…

Determined if differences in performance on a posttest (in which sections differed in use of manipulative models to answer questions) were attributable to differences in reasoning levels of chemistry students (N=105). Results indicate that reasoning may affect performance under conditions of constant instruction. (JN)

Described in this study are student teachers' frameworks of purity and the related concepts of the states of matter. The concept of natural versus pure substances, classifying states of matter, and implications for teaching drawn from the results are discussed. (Author/KR)

Discussed is the effectiveness of using analogies in chemistry instruction. Students' mathematics anxiety, spatial visualization skill, and proportional reasoning ability were found to be important aptitudes for determining chemistry achievement. The relationship between analogs and algorithms is described. (KR)

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)

Reports on a study intended to establish a relationship between the M-space (mental energy) and the M-demand (the variable difficulties of Piagetian tasks presumed to entail the same logical structure) of different items of general chemistry. Recommends that chemistry teachers consider the role of cognitive factors in determining student success.…