Research has shown that hands-on projects promote stem education, namely via problem-solving. CanSat, literally 'satellite in a can', is a stem educational project promoted by the European Space Agency. This paper addresses this issue by researching this STEM project and trying to understand how secondary students solve problems in the STEM CanSat…

According to dual-process accounts of thinking, belief-based responses on reasoning tasks are generated as default but can be intervened upon in favor of logical responding, given sufficient time, effort, or cognitive resource. In this article, we present the results of 5 experiments in which participants were instructed to evaluate the…

The study was conducted to gain some insight regarding whether the nature of critical thinking skills in biology appears to be different than the nature of more general critical thinking skills. The study falls within the context of previous studies (e.g., research by J. P. Guilford, 1967; and M. Rokeach, 1973) that used empirical methods to…

This document provides specific examples of what is involved in applying intellectual criteria and standards to students' reasoning, focusing on elements of reasoning (EORs). The significance of reasoning having elements and the need for standards in assessing reasoning are described. The following are the EORs: (1) purpose, goal, or end in view…

A historical review of educational literature concerning measurement of cognitive skills is provided, with reference to test construction. Focus is on assessing abilities beyond recall of information. In light of interest in assessing critical thinking in the California Assessment Program, it must be noted that concern with critical thinking is…

Research has revealed distinct differences in the problem-solving approaches of high- and low-aptitude students. As a consequence, content area teachers can focus on thinking skills by having students describe their mental processes and giving them feedback on erroneous or incomplete reasoning. (TE)

Issues in the development of assessments of higher order thinking skills for college graduates are discussed in the order in which they were presented when this series of papers was commissioned. With regard to Issue 1, it is generally agreed that the development of these skills is a desirable goal, but there is little consensus on how they should…

This study explores the usefulness of a creativity construct for arts education. It is hypothesized that an arts orientation is a valid personality construct, that this orientation is correlated with contrasting cognitive skills, and that these skills are manifested in creative behaviors. Sixty-five high school seniors were given the ACT Interest…

This document provides a model for the national assessment of higher order thinking and consists of a preface and four main sections. The preface discusses the problem of lower order learning, summarizes the state of research into critical thinking and instructional reform, and explains the structure of the paper. Section 1 of the paper describes…

Goal five of the National Education Goals of America 2000 calls for dramatic improvement in the educational attainment of the nation's adult population. Encompassed in the goal is a charge to increase the number of college graduates who can think critically, communicate effectively, and solve problems. This paper focuses on measures that can be…

A method for studying medical reasoning in a life-like setting is reported. Simulated medical problems, amplified by concurrent thinking aloud, episodic retrospection during the work-up, and videotape-stimulated retrospection, are used to obtain records of the behavior and reasoning physicians use to solve diagnostic problems. The fundamental…

College-level assessment efforts in New Jersey are described. For more than a dozen years, students in public colleges and universities in New Jersey have been assessed using a common statewide instrument, the New Jersey College Basic Skills Placement Test. This test assesses reading, writing, and mathematics skills of entering college students as…

For a national program assessing college graduates to succeed, it must be institutionalized at the majority of colleges and universities in the nation. The information generated must play a clear and key role in formulating state and institutional higher education policy, college matriculation standards, and degree-granting decisions. Such an…

Four presentations from the 1985 Annual Michigan School Testing Conference on "Assessing Higher Order Skills" are offered in this paper, and the chairman of the First General Session provides an introductory section. The papers individually and collectively address the problem of defining higher order thinking skills. A second major…

Writing encompasses a wide range of skills, from the mechanics of punctuation and spelling to the systematic or even creative development of ideas. The higher order skills of communication necessarily involve critical thinking and problem solving, and an assessment of the writing of advanced students will be able to encompass these other higher…