Piaget has hypothesized that concrete and formal operations can be described by specific logical models. The present study focused on assessing various aspects of four concrete operational groupings and two variations of two formal operational characteristics. Six hundred twenty-two 9-14 year old students participating in the Human Sciences…

In the last few decades there has been a move in philosophy of education toward a concept of pragmatic rationality. This paper examines whether the move away from systematicity, fixed guiding principles or logical systems, makes this notion of pragmatic rationality so broad that it can encompass any procedure of selection which involves rules, no…

An effort is made at defining the lessons of the sixties as they relate to the understanding of processes of social and organizational change. This essay examines the theory of change that emerged in the sixties, describes how the current condition in the United States indicates the wrongness of this view, and suggests a reformulation based on a…

This study tests the following hypotheses: (a) the ability to solve disjunctive concepts increases with age; (b) positive instances are of greater use in solving conjunctive concepts while negative instances are of greater use in solving disjunctive concepts; (c) older children will show greater improvement than younger children in concept…

During the first half of the 19th century, written composition was seldom taught in American high schools. Speech writing was the only writing required of high school students until the mid 1800's when associationist psychology, with its emphasis on developing thinking habits through systematic, realistic exercise instead of memorization and…

To determine to what extent children of preschool age comprehend the meaning of logical connectives, 64 5- and 6-year-olds were told to hand differently colored and shaped wooden blocks to an experimenter. The commands involved various English idioms used for conjunction (e.g. both black and round), disjunction (either black or round), and…

This is the first of the NCTM yearbooks to be written by a single author. He traces the history of the terms "variable" and "function" and discusses the meaning of functionality. The logical and psychological bases are examined followed by a general discussion of the psychology of reasoning. Two chapters outline the history of…

In this paper, discussion is provided concerning the development of a pilot science child-centered activities. Background information on the Riverview School of Manitowoc, Wisconsin, is given. The objectives aim at providing EMH children with a systematic approach to logical thinking, direct experiences, and opportunities to realize natural…

Expanded abstracts and critical analyses are given for each of 14 research articles. Four articles involve variables affecting student achievement and attitudes; two each on teaching abstract concepts to young children, problem solving, conservation in young children, and children's understanding of logic and mathematical relations; one on…

Previous research on analogy solutions indicated that an associative relatedness process was central to the solution process. One implication of these findings was that differences in associations to the words comprising the items may produce differences in test performance and, hence, account for the vast differentials in performance of persons…

Profiling, a procedure for evaluating methodological adequacy, a prerequisite for the acceptance or rejection of the conclusions of the investigation, is discussed. Three elements of this procedure are presented: (1) structuring of a logical argument, (2) generation of data and (3) analysis of data. All three elements are employed in hypothesis…

Categories of effective and ineffective behavior in regard to Goal Three of the Quality Education Program (regarding basic skills) are listed. Both the rationales for areas of effective student behavior and the categories of teacher strategies are also included. (See TM 001 375 for project description.) (MS)

This guide discusses the need for decision making expertise, and the steps to attain it. First, human beings are forever encountering the necessity to make choices, because they are constantly striving to adapt to their environment and to co-exist with others, Second there is an expectation that individuals will be independent. Third,…

The first section of this paper deals with the attempts within the framework of transformational grammar to make semantics a systematic part of linguistic description, and outlines the characteristics of the generative semantics position. The second section takes a critical look at generative semantics in its later manifestations, and makes a case…