Assessment of conceptual level of 130 secondary students identified as gifted and 131 students from schools without gifted programs revealed significantly higher scores for gifted students. Findings suggested that such a measure of cognitive complexity may enhance identification of gifted students. (CL)

Argues that saying that students have "thinking problems" is hardly a useful diagnostic statement or even a sensible description of flawed cognitive development. Maintains that what is needed to encourage students to think are some sensible models and attractive opportunities to do it in contexts that matter to them. (RS)

This investigation examined whether advance organizers would help learning disabled (LD) adolescents to more efficiently process information on selected academic tasks. There were three phases: First, 51 LD and 63 normally achieving (NA) subjects participated in the development of a test to measure important and unimportant information. Second,…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between a student's stated preference for solving a problem and his/her actual problem solving methodology. Approximately 116 science students between the ages of 15 and 22 were given an 18 item abstract preference survey. Each student was interviewed and given the opportunity to solve…

This article links recent research on human cognitive functioning with developing conceptions of human competence and applies these major developments to the place of home economics in the secondary school. This research focuses on thinking and learning processes and factors that influence these processes and their outcomes. (CT)

Ten hearing impaired adolescents receiving Instrumental Enrichment demonstrated improvements in: systematic approaches to problems; analysis of problem situations; vocabulary size; analysis of source-of-error in problem-solving situations; completeness, organization, and planning in problem-solving situations; peer cooperation in problem solving;…

Fifty-four gifted adolescents performed a creative generation task in which they imagined and drew fruit that might exist on another planet. They developed fruit that was rated as more original than developed by college students, and did so regardless of whether they were explicitly instructed to be more creative. (CR)

Recently there has been concern about the apparent explosion of sexual activity among unmarried teenagers. Social policy planners have usually recommended sex education, often offered through the schools, as a means for reducing teenage pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases, and abortion. Unfortunately there is continuing evidence that…

Reports the results of two studies designed to investigate the presence of six cognitive levels of intellectual performance as predicted by Bloom's taxonomy. Results of both experiments revealed a performance dichotomy with synthesis and evaluation forming the superior category. Includes examples of the text items used and draws implications for…

States that there is a strong cognitive basis to the appreciation of verbal music (the sound sequences of literary works) and that by using the framework explained, students will open themselves to verbal music and its expressive qualities and intensify their awareness of the work's content. (DF)

Stresses the development of complex cognitive processes during adolescence and sees the challenge of the curriculum in the question of greater match between the learner's cognitive level and the material to learned. (JOW)

Two questionnaires were given to 38 students (16-18 year olds), in which they were asked to classify a list of different conceptual entities by several ontological features. The results suggest the form of a fundamental "ontological space" and locate some scientific concepts in this space. (Author)

The goal of this article is to identify and disseminate several important messages from recent research on formal thought. Reasoning by adolescents, measurement of Piagetian formal reasoning, the importance of additional factors, stages, and working memory are discussed. (MNS)

Proposes the cognitive developmental paradigm for developing and teaching career development courses in secondary schools. Proposes the major Piagetian constructs of interaction, equilibration, assimilation, and accommodation as a means of intervening in both the structure and function of the career thinking of adolescents. (Author)