Three areas of the classical rhetoric of Aristotle, adapted for the modern discourse of inquiry and demonstration, provide a systematic framework for students to understand thought, investigation, and writing in other disciplines: aitia, kairos, and the enthymeme and the example. Aitia, or cause, has four aspects--the material cause, the formal…

This study hypothesized that subjects who display proportional responses on the Pouring Water Task have developed the ability to comprehend logical arguments of the form referred to as "reasoning to a contradiction," while subjects who display additive responses on the same task have not. To test this hypothesis, 100 additive and…

Since a discourse community may have its membership assigned both on the basis of speech or of writing, it follows that the concept of discourse community needs to be both medium-neutral and unconstrained by space and time. The defining characteristics of a discourse community might be (1) communality of interest, (2) mechanisms for…

Research involving cognitive modification and using intervention instruction in general prerequisite cognitive processes has shown that significant and long-term results are possible. Use of intervention instruction involving prerequisite data gathering skills with teachers has been successful in improving ability to use probing questions in…

In this brief review of current literature on developing critical thinking skills in prospective teachers, the focus is on how critical thinking can be taught and how emphasis on critical thinking will affect teacher education. Some programs are cited that promote critical thinking and references are included. (JD)

The link between writing and the development of reasoning abilities, and implications for the college curriculum are discussed. The developmental models/theories of Piaget, Kohlberg, Gilligan, and Perry are described. Perry identifies a level of cognitive development called "dualism," which is a tendency to view the world in absolute,…

Investigates the effects of training two components of a dimension-abstracted oddity problem, oddity responding and attention, in a series of three problems. (Author/ED)

The learning of mathematics is presented as a cognitive process rather than as a behavioristic one. A generative model of mathematics learning is described. Learning with understanding can occur with discovery or reception treatments. Relevant empirical research is discussed and implications for teaching mathematics as a generative process are…

This paper offers a detailed review of the literature concerning sex differences in the learning of mathematics. It identifies cognitive, affective and educational variables which have been either shown or hypothesized to contribute to sex-related differences in mathematics learning. The author analyzes each study in detail. One important finding…

The effect of reading practice upon reading ability was investigated in three separate studies, with six high school students in each study. Each student was given 50 to 70 hours of individualized instruction on a PLATO IV computer terminal. Half of the students in each study were selected on the basis of high scores on the Raven Progressive…

The development of critical ability, or cognitive criticism, is being studied in a two-year Swedish project described in this progress report. Cognitive criticism is valuable in all occupational fields, but especially futurology and technology assessment. This project proposes to make concrete the aims of critical training, and to identify and…

This study examines the influence of selected performance factors and social role participation upon Piagetian cognitive funcitoning during the aging years. By administering a battery of concrete and formal reasoning tasks and measures of fluid intelligence, the effects of varying instructional set and age of E on the cognitive performance of 80…

An exploration of children's responses to some of the Caldecott prize-winning books, using a Piagetian-type interview. An attempt is made to find out why some children are "turned off" by books that, from all ostensible evidence, are of high quality. (CS)

In two experiments subjects were required to determine whether a random, angular form, presented at any of a number of picture-plane orientations was a "standard" or "reflected" version. Average time required to make this determination increased linearly with the angular departure of the form from a previously learned orientation. (Author/BJG)

Since man is no longer limited to the terrestrial sphere but reaching toward other worlds in exploration, geography as a science should no longer be restricted to its terrestrial limitations. (Author/ND)