The psychological order of difficulty among logical propositions with various logical connectives was assessed by testing a sample of high school adolescents. (Author/KM)

A set of tasks theoretically presumed to require equivalent logical competence (multiplication of classes, multiplication of relations, seriation, and transitivity) was administered to 64 first and second graders. Response measures emphasizing the operative and figurative aspects were compared within each task. (Author/SDH)

Begging the question, or the "petitio" fallacy, is problematic for logicians because rules of logic dictate that if an argument of a particular form begs the question at issue, any other argument of the same form also begs the question; yet such questions can appear satisfactory in other contexts. The fallacy benefits from considering…

Ten different methods of inquiry are outlined in this overview of research methodologies currently being employed in the field of curriculum studies: (1) philosophical, (2) historical, (3) scientific, (4) artistic, (5) moral, (6) religious, (7) interpretive, (8) instrumental, (9) deliberative, and (10) action oriented. Each of the 10 methods is…

A study investigating developmental differences in the ability to reason with conditional propositions used five variations of Wason's selection task to assess conditional reasoning in 132 eighth, tenth, and twelfth grade adolescents. In addition to examining developmental differences, the study had as an objective to examine the role of semantic…

The unit on logic is intended to teach critical thinking for gifted and talented students in grades 4-8. Sections are presented separately for students in grades 4-5 and 6-8. The younger students are instructed in such areas as scientific logic, math logic, spatial reasoning, deductive logic, inductive logic, and reasoning with analogies. The…

The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate methods for developing cognitive processes in adult students. It discusses concept formation and concept attainment, problem solving (which involves concept formation and concept attainment), Bruner's three stages of learning (enactive, iconic, and symbolic modes), and visual thinking. A curriculum for…

Advocates and teachers of critical thinking tend to deny that intuition and justification are logical, even though they assume that both processes are rational. However, it can be demonstrated that the relation between intuition and inference, between justification and explanation, is dialectical and complementary, so that there is no mystery as…

A study investigated whether students' abilities to solve verbal analogy problems can be increased through teacher-generated direct instruction and whether increased ability in solving verbal analogies is directly related to increased reading comprehension ability. Subjects, 90 children (30 from fourth, fifth, and sixth grades), participated in…

One pluralistic method for teaching advanced composition reflects the approaches of two texts: Linda Flower's "Problem-Solving Strategies for Writing" and Jeanne Fahnestock and Marie Secor's "A Rhetoric of Argument." Such an approach combines the practical tasks of arguing for consensus proposals with functional rather than…

Normal elementary school children and retarded adolescents were given a problem solving task. The performance of retardates was inferior to that of normal children when mental age was controlled. (ST)

Two 1973 Supreme Court rulings, "Miller v. California" and "Paris Adult Theatre I v. Slaton," consider the problem of obscenity in light of the First Amendment. Chief Justice Burger's stand, which represented that of a five-man majority, was based on the presumption that obscenity is not protected by the First Amendment because…

Defines argument as a process whereby people reason their way from one set of problematic ideas to the choice of another and identifies six characteristics of argument based on this concept. (MH)

The authors argue that a unit on logic should be included in the mathematics curriculum of preservice elementary teachers. In support of their argument they cite recommendations of the Committee on the Undergraduate Program in Mathematics (CUPM) and research literature. The logical content of current textbooks is surveyed. (SD)