This study addressed one aspect of scientific reasoning, the control of variables reasoning scheme. We explored whether a short intervention aimed at accelerating this reasoning scheme by CASE lessons would improve students' ability to apply this scheme in problems related to the biology curriculum. About 120 students from grade nine were assessed…

The author reflects on Piaget's 1972 article, "Intellectual evolution from adolescence to adulthood," addressed to questions regarding what he alleged to be the final, most advanced level of cognition in his developmental stage theory--formal operations, as described in his 1958 volume coauthored with Inhelder, "The growth of logical thinking from…

Examined college students' logical reasoning ability using the Test of Logical Thinking (TOLT) as a major predictor of science acheivement. Reports an improvement on each of the subscale scores, and a significant correlation with four science subjects on both pre- and post-TOLT scores. (YP)

Examines the relationship between visualization and the middle school mathematics curriculum. Gives an overview of where and how visualization interacts with the curriculum. Investigates the role of visualization in developing inductive/deductive and proportional reasoning. (YP)

The purposes of this descriptive-predictive study were to investigate the logical and critical thinking abilities of a sample of sixth through twelfth grade students (N=173) and to determine whether logical thinking processes are predictors of critical thinking abilities and academic achievement. The instruments administered in this study were (1)…

Reports a study of 922 college students that classified the students based on performance on formal operational reasoning tasks. Students were also administered seven logic tasks. Response patterns were analyzed and found to be similar to patterns derived from the multiple-hypothesis theory of advanced scientific reasoning and different from those…

Provides examples of if-then and combinatorial reasoning situations that have proved successful with college students and can be used with secondary school students. Proposes that practice with these problem solving processes can eliminate the need to memorize formulas that students may not understand. (ML)

Assessed was the level of thinking of 140 students who had been placed in developmental algebra as entering college freshmen. Scores on the Group Assessment of Logical Thinking, Scholastic Aptitude Tests, college placement tests; high school grade point average, and developmental algebra final grade were analyzed. Group characteristics are…

Describes a science experiment that gives students experiences with the float-sink phenomena and allows them to practice what Piaget called formal operational thinking. The goal of the experiment is to determine some of the variables responsible for cans of soda sinking or floating. (TJQ)

Presents a comparative analysis of the psychometric properties of three group tests of logical thinking used in science education research. Findings dealing with Longeot's Test of Logical Thinking, Lawson's Test of Formal Reasoning, and Tobin and Capie's Test of Logical Thinking demonstrate a lack of concurrent validity. Includes recommendations.…

Students (n=46) were assigned to one of three instructional groups (descriptive, question design, and hypothesis testing) to test the hypothesis that descriptive learning cycles are not sufficient to stimulate students to reason at a formal operational level. Analyses indicated that the hypothesis-testing group exhibited a significant increase on…

Twenty-nine children with learning disabilities (LD) in grades 2 and 4 through 7 were compared with children without LD for their development of proportional structures of thought. Significantly fewer children with LD had constructed second-order logical structures necessary to act on problems using multiplicative and preproportional reasoning.…

One formal operational schema, hypothetical-deductive reasoning, is seen as most important to effective decisionmaking in planning and carrying out classroom lessons. While it is clear that formal thought schema are widely used in teaching, it is also understood that these reasoning schema are themselves dependent upon the more fundamental…

Assesses the role of science topic instruction combined with logical reasoning strategy instruction in teaching high school students about blood pressure problems. Reports positive effects of the combined instruction compared to science topic instruction. (Author/YP)

The five formal operational reasoning modes in the Group Assessment of Logical Thinking were found to be statistically significant predictors of critical thinking abilities as measured by the Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal and were significant predictors of science and mathematics grades. (PR)