The purpose of this study was to enumerate, categorize, and compare the types of reading comprehension questions and activities included in the manuals of selected basal reading series. The Barrett Taxonomy--Cognitive and Affective Dimensions of Reading Comprehension was selected as the categorization taxonomy. Basal series were classified as…

Examines science education research studies concerned with the development of formal thinking in adolescents according to Piagetian theory. (Author/GA)

Reports a study which examined objective ratings of the moral issues expressed in the Defining Issues Test (DIT) items in relation to verbal reports of the reasoning with which those ratings were generated. Finds that differences in the educational level of the subjects were significant. A case is made for verbal assessment of information on…

A study in which Logo programming was used to teach problem-solving skills to fourth to eighth grade students is described. The results, and their implications for further use of the computer to teach higher order thinking skills, are discussed. The possible use of Prolog programming to teach reasoning skills is described. (JL)

In this interview, author Art Costa asserts that the teaching of either content or thinking skills in isolation is unproductive. To combine these approaches, he recommends selecting content for its relationship to thought processes. He also observes that administrators who model intelligent behavior thereby create a climate for thinking. (TE)

Effective intervention strategies for learning disabled students should recognize such cognitive deficiencies as weaknesses in attention, memory deficits, and problems in generalizing and abstracting information. Approaches which emphasize enhanced learning processes include: self-monitoring; repetition and deliberate instruction in control…

Investigated the development of formal reasoning among students (ages 10-18 years) from predominately White, middle-class communities located in rural, suburban homogeneous, and suburban heterogeneous areas. Results indicate clear differences among communities in formal reasoning ability. Implications for using science instruction to promote…

Describes a schema-theoretic view of how analogies enhance students' prior knowledge; reviews some of the recent studies using analogies to assist students' comprehension of science text; and illustrates the use of an analogical study guide in biology. (HOD)

Students' abstract reasoning abilities can differ from one society to another. Students' profiles play significant roles in these differences. The aim of the study is to determine the relationship between middle school students' cognitive development levels and their profiles (age, gender, and science achievement) using the Science Cognitive…

This paper asserts that any intellectually responsible program to instruct young children in math, science, and technology must overcome at least three seemingly insurmountable obstacles: (1) adults' inability to discover, either by reflection or analysis, the means by which children acquire science and technology concepts; (2) the fact that young…

Describes a 5-year futures curriculum planning process currently used by an 11-member network of California and Canadian school districts. Addresses the definition of information technology and the definition of reasoning that describes the inductive, as well as the deductive, higher-order thinking skills. (MLF)

Discusses whether formal thought constitutes a structured whole and role of propositional logic in advanced reasoning. Presents aspects of advanced reasoning model, considering hypothesis generation/testing as central processes in intellectual development. Argues that advanced reasoning schemata are linked by these processes and should be…

Mathematical tasks calling for relational thinking were given to 60 children of Indian, Pakistani, or Bangladeshi origin who had spent their school lives in England, 60 who had arrived within the past 3 years, and 60 British children. Differences in the ability to abstract, hypothesize, and generalize were studied. (KC)

This study had two purposes: (1) to determine when children distinguish ambiguous from precise messages and when they can resolve ambiguity through additional questioning, and (2) to identify whether implicit messages were more difficult to identify than explicit ones. All children found ambiguous messages significantly more difficult to…

These experiments focus upon two assumptions of the levels of processing formulation: that context provides exclusive control over the qualitative nature of encoding, and that amount recalled is determined both by cue-trace compatibility and by depth. The results cast doubt upon the validity of each assumption. (Author/MH)