Studied 100 adolescents' approaches to problem-solving proofs and reasoning competence tasks. Found that a formal level of reasoning competence is associated with a deductive approach. Results support the notion of a cognitive development progression from an inductive approach to a deductive approach. (ETB)

Protocols of people attempting to solve syllogistic problems and explaining how they reached their conclusions were examined. Two main groups of subjects were identified. One group represented the relationship between classes in a spatial manner supplemented by verbal representation. The other group used a primarily verbal representation. A…

The effectiveness of coaching active reasoning of students with learning disabilities was studied with 63 grade 4 and 5 students. Students in the coaching condition outperformed students in the two comparison conditions on immediate and one-week delayed tests of factual information and explanations. (Author/SW)

Examines mothers' discourse in joint picture book reading in terms of the level of abstract thought it requires the child to make and compares this with language used in an interactive, product-oriented task, modelling a clown using play-doh. (39 references) (GLR)

An activity in a college statistics class had students go to a field of grass and clover and use a variety of estimation, probability, sampling, distribution, and calculation techniques for determining the number of flowers in the field. The activity focused on the discovery process, encouraged abstract reasoning, and was pleasurable. (MSE)

It is argued that science's reputation as a "hard" subject can be attributed to four intrinsic features of science and/or learners. The reasons for a link between abstraction and difficulty are briefly explored. It is suggested that certain extrinsic features of science education, resulting from choices by science educators, exacerbate these…

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…

Simple graphing activity helps primary students make the jump from counting concrete objects to understanding abstract symbols. As part of the activity, students vote for their favorite season, then stand up and become a graph of the data they collect. The activity requires the Graph Club Classroom Kit software program. (SM)

Explains abductive reasoning; compares it to more traditional forms of logic, i.e., deduction and induction; and describes a computerized tutorial called A.R.T. (Abductive Reasoning Tool) that was created to foster abductive reasoning. Implications of using abductive techniques in instructional design are suggested. (Contains 13 references.) (LRW)

This article describes a 16-session training program to improve analogical reasoning skills in school-age children with language disorders, patterned after R. Sternberg's componential theory of analogical reasoning. Phase I consists of mediated learning experiences in which the instructor focuses on the direct instruction of the component…

College students were assigned to either dyadic or individual problem-solving conditions and were given a series of formal operational tasks. Dyadic subjects solved more problems during the interaction phase than did individual subjects. Among dyadic subjects, interactions were associated with problem solving and pre-to-posttest gain scores. (BC)

Argues that the limited results achieved so far by empirical educational research are a result of a fundamental difference in the generalized concepts used therein and the abstract concepts used in the natural sciences. Discusses the work of Galileo and Newton to clarify the difference between generalization and abstraction. (DMM)

Creative projects, whether in the arts, literature, or social aspects of education, demand a mixture of the "subconscious" (imaginative) and "intellectual" (rational), not the rejection of one in favor of the other. Rationality and imagination are complementary in speculative research. An advocacy approach may be appropriate in certain cases. (20…

Students, ages 12, 15, 18, and 23 (n=60 per group), wrote definitions for 16 abstract nouns. Responses were analyzed for Aristotelian style. There was an increasing tendency for students to mention the appropriate category to which a word belongs, core features of the word, and subtle aspects of meaning. (DB)

Comparison of 149 deaf and 121 hearing college students on the Approaches to Studying Inventory found the impact of deafness relatively slight. Discriminant analysis indicated deaf students, especially those who preferred sign communication, had more difficulty with relating ideas on different topics although they were more likely to adopt a…