The relationship between a student's stated preference for solving a problem and his/her actual problem methodology, concrete or abstract, was studied. Comparisons were made between formal and nonformal students. (MP)

Cites reasons for the formation and continuance of the Intellectual Development Project ( IDP). The impact of IDP research is described. (CP)

Investigates several key statements from Piaget's cognitive psychology and their meaning for science education. Concludes that teaching must be conducted as reversibly as possible so that when the teacher presents his own assimilation schemata it will be equilibrated by the pupils' schemata. (GA)

Four tasks which are frequently used to evaluate adolescent reasoning skill: (1) the pendulum task; (2) the ramp problem; (3) the cart experiment; and (4) the invisible magnetism experiment are analyzed to determine the Piagetian concepts that each measures. (CP)

Children's understanding of Euclidian space was investigated using three Piaget-type tasks to examine the ability of children to quantitatively locate a point in one, two, and three dimensions. Among the findings were that a disagreement exists between Piaget's data and the results of this study. (BT)

A pretest-posttest research design was used with 104 first-grade children to determine if discrimination and classifactory activities would affect transition from preoperational to concrete stages. Findings showed the experimental group exhibited significantly greater transition than did the control group. (CP)

Many science curriculum development projects have the goal of increasing students' ability to employ scientific or formal reasoning strategies. Argues that longitudinal data of students who acquired formal reasoning strategies as a consequence of specific instruction are needed to provide evidence that these skills will help in other academic…

Analyzes the meaning of Piaget's concept of abstraction and provides discussion of some of its shortcomings. (HM)

Described are how students (n=2,000) reduce the complexity of multivariable problems. Tendencies toward "functional reduction" in common reasoning are shown to range from a simple reduction in the number of variables considered, to a more elaborate procedure where all variables are taken into account, but in a simplified way involving…

Investigated, within a Piagetian framework, was the degree of abstract preferences exhibited by five different grade levels of science students as they completed eighteen problem solving tasks. Three hundred twenty-nine randomly selected students from five grade levels, ranging from eighth grade to college seniors, were given the Shipley Test of…

Cites research findings to refute Piaget's contention of stages of cognitive development. Advocates continuous cognitive differentiation as a model. (CP)

Describes a program being conducted within the chemistry department of Xavier University, New Orleans, Louisiana, to improve the abstract reasoning abilities of freshmen science majors. The project is based upon the philosophy developed by Jean Piaget. (SL)

This document reorts on an educational research study involving 75 eighth-grade students to determine the effects of problem solving instruction on the ability of students to apply proportional reasoning in problem situations. Results suggest that changes in basic reasoning skills such as proportional reasoning are long term, highly dependent on…

The designs, results, and conclusions of several related research studies which examine the role of student preferences in problem-solving strategies are summarized. Emphasis is upon the relationship between an individual's stated preference and his or her ability to implement this preference and successfully solve a related science task. Students…