Introductory biology courses are widely criticized for overemphasizing details and rote memorization of facts. Data to support such claims, however, are surprisingly scarce. We sought to determine whether this claim was evidence-based. To do so we quantified the cognitive level of learning targeted by faculty in introductory-level biology courses.…

The purpose of this study was to describe the cognitive level of professor discourse and student cognition during selected college of agriculture class sessions. Twenty-one undergraduate class sessions were videotaped in 12 professors' courses. Results were interpreted to show that professors' discourse was mostly (62%) at the knowledge and…

Two experiments were performed to study inductive reasoning as a set of thought processes that operates on the structure, as opposed to the content, of organized memory. The content of the reasoning consisted of inductions concerning the names of mammals, assumed to occupy a Euclidean space of three dimensions (size, ferocity, and humanness) in…

Formal and familiar materials were used to test Piagetian classification and formal operational abilities in two groups of educated adults: one group aged 30-38 and the other aged 57-82 years. Subjects did not show mastery of the tasks. Results suggest a new model of cognitive lifespan development. (Author/MS)

Three experiments examined the exclusivity of perpetually defined categorical representations for animal categories in infants. Results indicated that infants have the capacity for making distinctions among high similar natural kinds but that such find distinctions cannot be made without appropriate exemplars. (SW)

Recent research studies and texts in composition demonstrate the growing belief that students' difficulties with the writing tasks assigned to them are inextricably linked with their difficulties in handling complex cognitive processes. Through appropriate writing activities, students can be provided with practice in the intellectual functions…

CERTAIN SYSTEMS FOR CLASSIFYING COGNITIVE FUNCTIONS ARE REVIEWED AND COMPARED IN A DISCUSSION OF GENERALIZING PROCESSES USED FOR EVALUATING INSTRUCTIONAL OUTCOMES. THE AUTHOR STATES THAT THERE ARE TWO IMPORTANT GENERALIZATIONS TO BE MADE IN THE EVALUATION OF INSTRUCTIONAL PROGRAMS--GENERALIZING THE PROGRAM RESULTS AND THE SKILLS OF THE…

This study investigated the potential use of a cognitive measure to detect differential effects on children's styles of performance and behavior. A stratified random sample of 96 children across schools, sex and preschool attendance were selected for testing from the five kindergarten classes associated with the Mt. Druitt Early Childhood Project…

The purpose of this study was to improve the reliability of the Sigel Cognitive Style Test. Post hoc analysis of ninety test protocols had indicated that the original thirty-five card test could be shortened to improve the test's reliability. This analysis also showed that males were responding to certain cards differently from females.…

To determine whether objective test items could measure cognitive processes more complex than recall of isolated facts, the committee of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons preparing the Orthopaedic In-Training Examination classified test items into three taxonomic levels according to the cognitive process required to answer the item.…

Examines traditional psychometric approaches to measuring intelligence and recent work by cognitive psychologists to develop a rationale for a non-verbal reasoning test for 10- to 11-year-olds. Recent studies providing basis for analyzing structure of test items are outlined, and benefits of analyzing items at a sub-type level are discussed.…

These authors cite their own study of the relationship between traditional measures of intelligence and Piagetian measures of cognitive development in support of Glass and Stephens' contention that there are important qualitative differences. They question Humphreys' and Parsons' conclusions on both substantive and factor theoretical grounds. (CTM)

The longitudinal interrelations among age, visual and auditory short-term memory, and the concrete operational tasks of class inclusion and combinatorial reasoning were investigated over four testing occasions in a sample of 134 students, initially ranging from 5 to 12 years in age. The Piagetian task battery involved placement of colored…

For this study, the second in the cross sectional series, based on the Conceptual Learning and Development (CLD) model, assessment batteries were developed to determine each child's level of attainment and related use of the concepts "equilateral triangle,""cutting tool,""noun," and "tree." Batteries were…

For this study, the second in the cross sectional series, based on the Conceptual Learning and Development (CLD) model, assessment batteries were developed to determine each child's level of concept attainment and also the related use of the concepts "equilateral triangle,""cutting tool,""noun," and "tree."…