This study focuses on the design and the implementation of a digital environment aimed at fostering strategic planning competence in problem-solving through individualization features: the Individualized Planned Strategy Environment (IPSE). Within IPSE, students are engaged in a sequence of oriented activities, guiding them in constructing and…

This article explores the advantages of viewing intelligence not as a fixed trait residing within an individual, but rather as a person × task × situation interaction. The emphasis in the article is on the role of persons solving tasks embedded in situations involving learning, intellectual abilities, and competencies. The article opens with a…

Although a solid body of research concerning the role of analogies in reading processes has emerged at a variety of age groups and reading proficiencies, few of those studies have focused on analogy use by readers enrolled in college developmental reading courses. The current study explores whether 232 students enrolled in mandatory (by placement…

To reflect on the mathematics achievement of children engaging "Algebra and Analogies for Kids," the teacher researcher will explore the following inquiry: What happens when kids display analogical thinking in an algebra project? Specifically, the proposed study will examine the reasoning of five children in portfolios of best works and selected…

A set of tasks theoretically presumed to require equivalent logical competence (multiplication of classes, multiplication of relations, seriation, and transitivity) was administered to 64 first and second graders. Response measures emphasizing the operative and figurative aspects were compared within each task. (Author/SDH)

The field of youth development is based on a long tradition of youth work practice, a body of research on adolescent development, an increasing understanding of developmental processes, and work in related applied fields like education and child care. Whereas multiple lists have emerged describing what comprises or is needed for youth development,…

Nine tasks were designed to test the developmental sequence of three types of "because" (affective, physical, concrete logical) in 100 children aged 3 to 7 years. The tasks tested whether comprehension of "because" preceded its usage and at what point children understood that sentences with reversed clauses were incorrect.…

A sample of 108 eight-grade students using Intermediate Science Curriculum Study (ISCS) were tested with four Piagetian tasks: two tasks were related to ISCS concepts, two were not. Concludes that no students were formal operational, most were concrete operational, and most performed better on the non-ISCS related tasks. (MLH)

This paper questions evidence for the thesis that causal reasoning of older children is more logical than that of younger ones, and describes two experiments which attempted to determine (1) whether there are true developmental differences in causal reasoning, and (2) what explanations for developmental differences can be supported. In the first…

Studied was the performance of four Piagetian tests for formal reasoning by students between the ages of 9 and 15. Concluded that boys performed better than girls. (MLH)

This theoretical paper reevaluates the Piagetian tradition in the study of propositional reasoning. Piaget's assertion that children's logic, prior to the stage of formal operations, is structurally adequate for dealing with objects and their properties, but is inadequate for fully competent propositional reasoning, is challenged on three grounds:…

There is considerable disagreement concerning the age of onset and universality of attainment of Piaget's stage of formal operations. This study examines developmental differences in response to brief prompts in the use of a formal operational approach to the solution of two tasks. The subjects were 10 males and 10 females from each of Grades 5,…

Children in grades 1, 3, and 5 and college students were given a variety of judgment tasks contrasting the comparison of quantity with the comparison of proportions to determine whether the understanding of proportions develops before formal operations. Results indicated that the comprehension of abstract relations requires formal operations.…

Presents ordering theory as a useful method in the identification and validation of logical hierarchies among tasks that measure student development. An example shows the application of ordering theory to the measurement of college students' decision making about careers. (Author/ABB)