Helping students better understand how scientists reason and argue to draw scientific conclusions has long been viewed as a critical component of scientific literacy, thus remains a central goal of science instruction. However, differences of opinion persist regarding the nature of scientific reasoning, argumentation, and discovery. Accordingly,…

This study compared the relationships of self-efficacy and reasoning ability to achievement in introductory college biology. Based on the hypothesis that developing formal and postformal reasoning ability is a primary factor influencing self-efficacy, a significant positive correlation was predicted between reasoning ability and degree of…

Two hypotheses regarding the relationship between scientific reasoning skills and the use of the inquiry method of instruction in college biology labs were examined. The first hypothesis was that scientific reasoning skills influence an instructor's ability to teach biology using inquiry. The second hypothesis was that the effectiveness with which…

Investigates Korean and U.S. college students' scientific reasoning skills involving hypothesis-testing skills and tests the hypothesis that hypothesis-testing skills are more advanced than other scientific reasoning skills. The study involves (n=774) Korean and (n=568) U.S. students and uses the Test of Scientific Reasoning (TSR). (Contains 24…

Asks the question, Can the learning cycle also be applied effectively to science text? High school students (n=23) were tested for reasoning ability then randomly assigned to read either a learning-cycle or traditional-text passage. Students who read the learning-cycle passage earned higher scores on concept comprehension questions at all…

Tests the hypothesis that a fifth stage of intellectual development characterized by the ability to test alternative explanations involving unseen theoretical entities exists. This hypothesis is tested in the context of a nonmajor college-level biology course in which the assumption is made that some students have acquired Stage 5 reasoning…

Introduces the learning cycle method in the context of biology instruction. Includes a theoretical rationale for its use as well as a brief review of key studies that have found it effective. (Author/MM)

Tests the hypothesis that maturing prefrontal lobes play a role in the development of proportional reasoning skill because the prefrontal lobes are involved in the inhibition of task-irrelevant information and the representation of task-irrelevant information. Assigns students randomly to manipulative or verbal tutoring groups and tests both…

The study investigated the role of analogic instruction and reasoning level on the dependent measure of concept acquisition in an introductory college genetics course. The question of whether concept acquisition was facilitated through the use of instructional analogies was addressed. The control treatment consisted of expository instruction alone…

Reports study of college biology laboratory course where 604 students were placed in pairs based on their scientific reasoning ability (intuitive, transitional, reflective). Results indicate no significant difference between type of partner and laboratory score or posttest reasoning score. Survey results indicate reflective partner was viewed as…

The constructivist hypothesis that the acquisition of domain-specific conceptual knowledge (declarative) requires the use of general procedural knowledge was tested. Students (n=314) were classified as reflective, transitional, or intuitive thinkers and presented with four concept-acquisition tasks. Skill in hypothetico-deductive reasoning…

Tests the hypothesis that an early adolescent brain growth plateau and spurt exists, and that this plateau and spurt influence students' ability to reason scientifically and to learn theoretical science concepts. Finds that measures of students' (n=210) prefrontal lobe activity correlated highly with scientific reasoning ability, and that these…

Tests the hypothesis that two general developmentally-based levels of hypothesis-testing skills exist. Finds a positive relationship between level of hypothesis-testing skill and performance on a transfer problem involving the test of a hypothesis based on unobservable entities. Also finds a positive relationship between level of…

The purpose of this study was to determine if factors to predict success in college biology (i.e., prior knowledge of biology or reasoning ability) depend on the instructional method employed (i.e., expository or inquiry). Reasoning ability was found to account for a significant amount of variance in final examination scores, regardless of…

Investigated is the extent to which students' nonscientific beliefs change by comparing before and after instruction as a function of students' reasoning skill. Nonscientific beliefs discussed include special creation, orthogenesis, the soul, nonreductionism, vitalism, teleology, and nonemergentism. (KR)