The present study investigates the effect of three neo-Piagetian constructs, namely Formal Reasoning (FR), Field Dependence/Independence (FDI) and Divergence (DIV), as well as the effect of age and gender, on students' portrayed representations of the atomic structure, considering their degree of coherence. For this purpose students'…

This paper addresses some methodological issues concerning traditional linear approaches and shows the need for a paradigm shift in education research towards the Complexity and Nonlinear Dynamical Systems (NDS) framework. It presents a quantitative piece of research aiming to test the nonlinear dynamical hypothesis in education. It applies…

In this study, the effect of 3 cognitive variables such as logical thinking, field dependence/field independence, and convergent/divergent thinking on some specific students' answers related to the particulate nature of matter was investigated by means of probabilistic models. Besides recording and tabulating the students' responses, a combination…

This article presents the concept of creative potential and its link to talent. Psychological measures to assess creative potential in children and adolescents (EPoC) and adults (Creative Profiler) are then described. Implications for developing creativity are proposed.

This work uses the concepts and tools of complexity theory to examine the effect of logical thinking and two cognitive styles, such as, the degree of field dependence/independence and the convergent/divergent thinking on students' understanding of the structure of matter. Students were categorized according to the model they adopted for the…

Meaning in statistics is fundamentally related to contexts, which poses the challenge to teach statistics in contexts, taking everyday reasoning as the basis from which to develop statistical reasoning. I investigate how 13 teachers-as-learners in an introductory statistics course co-structure their situation models toward a shared real model that…

This study investigates how a natural experiment occurring in the teaching of principles of microeconomics allows a test of the Dunn and Dunn learning styles model (Dunn & Griggs, 2000). The material for the first exam, based on essential definitions and theoretical foundations, was taught in a conventional, inductive style, more compatible with…

A theory of the lay epistemic process is outlined. An integrative framework is provided that allows consideration of diverse attributional models in common theoretical terms and derivation of the necessary applicability conditions of different such models. (Author/RL)

Intelligent learning systems (ILSs) have evolved in the last few years basically because of influences received from multi-agent architectures (MAs). Conflict resolution among agents has been a very important problem for multi-agent systems, with specific features in the case of ILSs. The literature shows that ILSs with cognitive or pedagogical…

The unified theory described in this paper characterizes human reasoning as an information processing system with a hierarchical sequence of components and subtheories that account for performance on successively narrower tasks. Both deductive and inductive theories are subsumed in the unified componential theory, including transitive chain theory…

This paper proposes a theoretical framework of moral and immoral development which considers not only reasoning, but also behavior and situational variables. Major theories of moral development proposed by Freud, Piaget, Kohlberg, Haan, and Hogan are used to illustrate the notion that, although empirical evidence shows that most individuals…

The IADIS CELDA 2012 Conference intention was to address the main issues concerned with evolving learning processes and supporting pedagogies and applications in the digital age. There had been advances in both cognitive psychology and computing that have affected the educational arena. The convergence of these two disciplines is increasing at a…