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1.
Explaining natural phenomena is an important goal in science teaching. A logical analysis reveals that causal explanations exhibit formal operational structures in that they consist of implication statements chained together through transitive reasoning. It was hypothesized in the present study that individuals who do not reason formally will have difficulty in learning explanations presented in instruction. To test this hypothesis, the effect of levels of operational thought on the explanations which ninth-grade (n = 26) and college (n = 40) physical science students reconstructed after instruction was investigated. Subjects in the study were classified through Piagetian tests as concrete or formal operational. Both concrete and formal subjects were successful in recalling explanations requiring the chaining of two implication statements. Formal operational subjects performed significantly better than concrete operational subjects in three of the four tests of the reconstruction of complex explanations requiring the chaining of six implication statements. In teaching complex causal explanations to students at the concrete operational level, it is suggested that teachers be prepared to furnish some external structuring which the students can rely on in logically relating the various propositions of the explanation to one another. 相似文献
2.
Anton E. Lawson 《科学教学研究杂志》1987,24(7):611-627
To test the hypothesis that adolescents classified as formal operational, based upon use of proportional reasoning on the “Pouring Water Task” (Lawson, Karplus, & Adi, 1978) have acquired the mental structures necessary to comprehend hypothetico-deductive arguments of a pattern referred to as “reasoning to a contradiction,” while adolescents classified as concrete operational, based upon use of additive reasoning on the same task have not, a sample of 100 high school students were administered the task and three versions of a problem requiring use of reasoning to a contradiction before, immediately after, and one month after brief verbal instruction in use of that reasoning pattern. Results were generally supportive of the hypothesis as most of the concrete students failed the immediate and delayed posttest problems (62 and 80%, respectively) while most of the formal students succeeded (80 and 71%, respectively). Group differences were significant (p < .001) in both cases. These results suggest that, contrary to those who have argued that content plays a substantial role in logical performance, a general hypothetico-deductive reasoning competence exists in some adolescents and is applicable across a wide variety of task domains. Science instruction which aims to teach this competence is recommended. 相似文献
3.
The hypothesis that an early adolescent brain growth plateau and spurt exists and that this plateau and spurt influence students' ability to reason scientifically and to learn theoretical science concepts was tested. In theory, maturation of the prefrontal lobes during early adolescence allows for improvements in students' abilities to inhibit task‐irrelevant information and coordinate task‐relevant information, which along with both physical and social experience influences scientific reasoning ability and the ability to reject scientific misconceptions and accept scientific conceptions. Two hundred ten students ages 13–16 years enrolled in four Korean secondary schools were administered tests of four prefrontal lobe activities, a test of scientific reasoning ability, and a test of air pressure concepts derived from kinetic‐molecular theory. A series of 14 lessons designed to teach the concepts were then taught. The concepts test was then readministered following instruction. As predicted, among the 13‐ and 14‐year‐olds, performance on the prefrontal lobe measures remained similar or regressed. Performance then improved considerably among the 15‐ and 16‐year‐olds. Also as expected, the measures of prefrontal lobe activity correlated highly with scientific reasoning ability. In turn, prefrontal lobe activity and scientific reasoning ability predicted concept gains and posttest performance. A principal components analysis showed that the study variables had two main components, which were interpreted as an inhibiting and a representing component. Therefore, theoretical concept acquisition was interpreted as a process involving both the inhibition of task‐irrelevant information (i.e., the rejection of intuitively derived misconceptions) and the representation of task‐relevant information (i.e, complex hypothetico‐deductive arguments and counterintuitive scientific conceptions about nonobservable entities). © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 37: 44–62, 2000 相似文献
4.
We present a multiple-choice test, the Montana State University Formal Reasoning Test (FORT), to assess college students' scientific reasoning ability. The test defines scientific reasoning to be equivalent to formal operational reasoning. It contains 20 questions divided evenly among five types of problems: control of variables, hypothesis testing, correlational reasoning, proportional reasoning, and probability. The test development process included the drafting and psychometric analysis of 23 instruments related to formal operational reasoning. These instruments were administered to almost 10,000 students enrolled in introductory science courses at American universities. Questions with high discrimination were identified and assembled into an instrument that was intended to measure the reasoning ability of students across the entire spectrum of abilities in college science courses. We present four types of validity evidence for the FORT. (a) The test has a one-dimensional psychometric structure consistent with its design. (b) Test scores in an introductory biology course had an empirical reliability of 0.82. (c) Student interviews confirmed responses to the FORT were accurate indications of student thinking. (d) A regression analysis of student learning in an introductory biology course showed that scores on the FORT predicted how well students learned one of the most challenging concepts in biology, natural selection. 相似文献
5.
Several recent studies suggest concrete learners make greater gains in student achievement and in cognitive development when receiving concrete instruction than when receiving formal instruction. This study examined the effect of concrete and formal instruction upon reasoning and science achievement of sixth grade students. Four intact classes of sixth grade students were randomly selected into two treatment groups; concrete and formal. The treatments were patterned after the operational definitions published by Schneider and Renner (1980). Pretest and posttest measures were taken on the two dependent variables; reasoning, measured with Lawson's Classroom Test of Formal Reasoning, and science achievement, measured with seven teacher made tests covering the following units in a sixth grade general science curriculum: Chemistry, Physics, Earth Science, Cells, Plants, Animals, and Ecology. Analysis of covariance indicated significantly higher levels (better than 0.05 and in some cases 0.01) of performance in science achievement and cognitive development favoring the concrete instruction group and a significant gender effect favoring males. 相似文献
6.
This study examines the effect of teacher reasoning level (i.e., concrete versus formal) and teaching style preference (i.e., inquiry vs. expository) on improvement in student reasoning ability. A random sample of fourth and seventh grade teachers and their students were selected to participate over one school year. Students completed a reasoning test in the early fall and late spring. Teachers completed two instruments in the Spring, a reasoning test and a teaching style preference questionnaire. Students of concrete operational teachers showed greater gains in reasoning ability than students of formal operational teachers while students of inquiry teachers showed slightly greater gains than students of expository teachers. Possible explanations are discussed as are suggestions for future research. 相似文献
7.
Janet L. McDonald 《Educational Studies in Mathematics》1989,20(4):425-448
This study sought to determine whether clear distinctions in cognitive structures which existed at the time of instruction between students classified as formal operational and concrete operational would persist over time and result in prototypical structures for each group. In addition, this study investigated the effect of the ability to produce an accurate cognitive structure on the retention of geometric content and the stability of cognitive structures.The results showed that clear prototypical structures could be derived for the students who were formal operational at the time of instruction and also for those who were concrete operational. The students in the formal operational group exhibited initial structures of the geometric content more like the content experts, and after one year performed significantly better on a content test, and constructed more stable and accurate cognitive structures than those in the concrete operational group. 相似文献
8.
The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of conceptual change texts accompanied with concept mapping instruction, compared to traditional instruction (TI), on 8th grade students understanding of solution concepts and their attitudes toward science as a school subject. Solution Concept Test was developed as a result of examination of related literature and interviews with teachers regarding their observations of students difficulties. The test was administered to a total of 64 eighth grade students from two classes of a general science course, taught by the same teacher. The experimental group received the conceptual change texts accompanied with concept mapping in a lecture by the teacher. This instruction explicitly dealt with students misconceptions. It was designed to suggest conditions in which misconceptions could be replaced by scientific conceptions and new conceptions could be integrated with existing conceptions. The control group received TI in which the teacher provided instruction through lecture and discussion methods. The results showed that conceptual change text accompanied with concept mapping instruction caused a significantly better acquisition of scientific conceptions related to solution concept and produced significantly higher positive attitudes toward science as a school subject than the TI. In addition, logical thinking ability and prior learning were strong predictors for the concept learning related to solution. 相似文献
9.
This study compared the relationships of self‐efficacy and reasoning ability to achievement in introductory college biology. Based on the hypothesis that developing formal and postformal reasoning ability is a primary factor influencing self‐efficacy, a significant positive correlation was predicted between reasoning ability and degree of self‐efficacy to complete biological tasks. Further, reasoning ability was predicted to be more highly correlated with course achievement than self‐efficacy. The study involved pre‐ and posttesting 459 introductory biology students. Both self‐efficacy and reasoning ability increased during the semester. As predicted, self‐efficacy and reasoning ability were positively correlated. Depending on the nature of the achievement measure, reasoning ability accounted for some 15 to 30 times more variance in achievement than self‐efficacy. Also, as predicted, reasoning ability was a strong predictor of self‐efficacy, but self‐efficacy was not a strong predictor of reasoning ability. Self‐efficacy estimates and achievement were higher for the concrete tasks than for the formal tasks and higher for the formal tasks than for the postformal tasks. In general, students tended to overestimate their abilities to carry out the concrete, formal, and postformal tasks. Results support the study's working hypothesis that intellectual development continues for some students during the college years, that a postformal level of intellectual development exists, and that reasoning ability is a primary factor influencing both self‐efficacy and achievement. Student overestimation of their abilities may contribute to complacency, lack of effort, and to less than optimal achievement. Consequently, it may be advantageous early in the semester to provide students with particularly challenging tasks that “shock” them out of their complacency and perhaps increase their effort, their reasoning skills, and their achievement. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 44: 706–724, 2007 相似文献
10.
Anton E. Lawson 《科学教学研究杂志》1992,29(9):965-983
Tests of formal operational reasoning derived from Piagetian theory have been found to be effective predictors of academic achievement. Yet Piaget's theory regarding the underlying nature of formal operations and their employment in specific contexts has run into considerable empirical difficulty. The primary purpose of this study was to present the core of an alternative theory of the nature of advanced scientific reasoning. That theory, referred to as the multiple-hypothesis theory, argues that tests of formal operational reasoning actually measure the extent to which persons have acquired the ability to initiate reasoning with more than one specific antecedent condition, or if they are unable to imagine more than one antecedent condition, they are aware that more than one is possible; therefore conclusions that are drawn are tempered by this possibility. As a test of this multiple-hypothesis theory of advanced reasoning and the contrasting Piagetian theory of formal operations, a sample of 922 college students were first classified as concrete operational, transitional, or formal operational, based upon responses to standard Piagetian measures of formal operational reasoning. They were then administered seven logic tasks. Actual response patterns to the tasks were analyzed and found to be similar to predicted response patterns derived from the multiple-hypothesis theory and were different from those predicted by Piagetian theory. Therefore, support was obtained for the multiple-hypothesis theory. The terms intuitive and reflective were suggested to replace the terms concrete operational and formal operational to refer to persons at varying levels of intellectual development. 相似文献
11.
Understandings and misunderstandings of eighth graders of five chemistry concepts found in textbooks
Michael R. Abraham Eileen Bross Grzybowski John W. Renner Edmund A. Marek 《科学教学研究杂志》1992,29(2):105-120
The research reported in this study was designed to answer three questions: (a) What misconceptions do eighth grade students have concerning the chemistry concepts from their textbooks. (b) How is reasoning ability related to misconceptions concerning chemistry concepts. (c) How effective are textbooks in teaching an understanding of chemistry concepts? Five chemistry concepts were used in the study: chemical change, dissolution, conservation of atoms, periodicity, and phase change. Problems concerning the five concepts were given to 247 eighth-grade students in order to assess the students' degree of understanding of chemistry concepts and to identify specific misconceptions. Two pencil-and-paper Piaget-type tasks were used to assess intellectual level. A comparison of intellectual level and scores on the chemistry concepts showed moderate correlations. However, the small number of formal operational students in the sample makes these results inconclusive. A study of the level of understanding of the five chemistry concepts and the nature of the misconceptions held by students indicate a general failure of textbooks to teach a reasonable understanding of chemistry concepts. 相似文献
12.
This article reports research from a 3 year digital learning project to unite conceptual change and scientific reasoning in
the learning unit of combustion. One group of students had completed the course combining conceptual change and scientific
reasoning. The other group of students received conventional instruction. In addition to the quantitative data, six students
from each group were interviewed to evaluate their conceptual change, correct concepts and scientific reasoning. Results indicate
that the experimental group’s students significantly outperformed the conventional group on the Combustion Achievement Test
(CAT), Scientific Reasoning Test (SRT) and Combustion Dependent Reasoning Test (CDRT). Moreover, the experimental group’s
students use higher levels of scientific reasoning more frequently and changed their alternative concepts more successfully
than did the conventional group. Furthermore, once the experimental group’s students’ successfully changed their conceptions,
their concepts tended to be more stable than the conventional group’s students, even after the 6th week of learning. These
results demonstrate that combining conceptual change and scientific reasoning indeed improves students’ conceptual change
and scientific reasoning ability more effectively than conventional instruction. 相似文献
13.
This study was designed as a test for two neo-Piagetian theories. More specifically, this research examined the relationships between the development of proportional reasoning strategies and three cognitive variables from Pascual-Leone's and Case's neo-Piagetian theories. A priori hypotheses linked the number of problems students worked until they induced a proportional reasoning strategy to the variables of M-space, degree of field dependence, and short-term storage space. The subjects consisted of students enrolled in Physical Science I, a science course for nonscience majors at the University of Southern Mississippi. Of the 34 subjects in the study, 23 were classified as concrete operational on the basis of eight ratio tasks. Problems corresponding to five developmental levels of proportional reasoning (according to Piagetian and neo-Piagetian theory), were presented by a microcomputer to the 23 subjects who had been classified as concrete operational. After a maximum of 6 hours of treatment, 17 of the 23 subjects had induced ratio schemata at the upper formal level (IIIB), while the remaining subjects used lower formal level (IIIA) schemata. The data analyses showed that neither M-space and degree of field-dependence, either alone or in combination, nor short-term storage predicted the number of problems students need to do until they induce an appropriate problem-solving strategy. However, there were significant differences in the short-term storage space of those subjects who mastered ratio problems at the highest level and those who did not. Also, the subjects' degree of field-dependence was not a predictor of either the ability to transfer problem-solving strategies to a new setting or the reuse of inappropriate strategies. The results of this study also suggest that short-term storage space is a variable with high correlations to a number of aspects of learning such as transfer and choice of strategy after feedback. 相似文献
14.
Anton E. Lawson 《科学教学研究杂志》1983,20(4):347-356
To test the hypothesis that the basic “logic” utilized by individuals in scientific hypothesis testing is the biconditional (if and only if), and that the biconditional is a precondition for the development of formal operations, a sample of 387 students in grades eight, ten, twelve, and college were administered eight reasoning items. Five of the items involved the formal operational schemata of probability, proportions and correlations. Two of the items involved propositions and correlations. Two of the items involved propositional logic. One item involved the biconditional. Percentages of correct responses on most of the items increased with age. A principal-component analysis revealed three factors, two of which were identified as involving operational thought, one of which involved propositional logic. As predicted, the biconditional reasoning item loaded on one of the operational thought factors. A Guttman scale analysis of the items failed to reveal a unidimensional scale, yet the biconditional reasoning item ordered first supporting the hypothesis that it is a precondition for formal operational reasoning. Implications for teaching science students how to test hypotheses are discussed. 相似文献
15.
Anton E. Lawson 《科学教学研究杂志》1990,27(6):541-551
The primary purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that an important intellectual acquisition during adolescence is the ability to generate arguments that involve reasoning to contradiction. Students in grades 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, and college were individually administered a four-card selection task that required them to, among other things, reason to a contradiction to falsify a hypothesis. Virtually none of the students spontaneously utilized this reasoning pattern on the initial task. Minimal verbal instruction in use of the reasoning pattern was then given followed by a logically analogous selection task. Performance on this task improved significantly with age from 12% success among third graders to 52% success among college students, providing some support for the hypothesis. Performance on an evaluation task showed similar rates of success; however, most students were able to correctly evaluate falsifying evidence when presented. This result suggested that, contrary to Piagetian theory, students from grade 3 upward comprehend the logic of falsification. It is argued that reasoning to a contradiction is a reasoning pattern of central importance in testing alternative scientific hypotheses and its use in students grades 3 through college could be enhanced through proper instruction and, if done, should increase students' ability to generate and evaluate competing hypotheses. 相似文献
16.
The mechanism linking instruction in scientific topics and instruction in logical reasoning strategies is not well understood. This study assesses the role of science topic instruction combined with logical reasoning strategy instruction in teaching adolescent students about blood pressure problems. Logical reasoning instruction for this study emphasizes the controlling-variables strategy. Science topic instruction emphasizes variables affecting blood pressure. Subjects receiving logical reasoning instruction link their knowledge of blood pressure variables to their knowledge of controlling variables more effectively than those receiving science topic instruction alone—their specific responses show how they attempt to integrate their understanding. 相似文献
17.
TM Andrews RM Price LS Mead TL McElhinny A Thanukos KE Perez CF Herreid DR Terry PP Lemons 《CBE life sciences education》2012,11(3):248-259
This study explores biology undergraduates' misconceptions about genetic drift. We use qualitative and quantitative methods to describe students' definitions, identify common misconceptions, and examine differences before and after instruction on genetic drift. We identify and describe five overarching categories that include 16 distinct misconceptions about genetic drift. The accuracy of students' conceptions ranges considerably, from responses indicating only superficial, if any, knowledge of any aspect of evolution to responses indicating knowledge of genetic drift but confusion about the nuances of genetic drift. After instruction, a significantly greater number of responses indicate some knowledge of genetic drift (p = 0.005), but 74.6% of responses still contain at least one misconception. We conclude by presenting a framework that organizes how students' conceptions of genetic drift change with instruction. We also articulate three hypotheses regarding undergraduates' conceptions of evolution in general and genetic drift in particular. We propose that: 1) students begin with undeveloped conceptions of evolution that do not recognize different mechanisms of change; 2) students develop more complex, but still inaccurate, conceptual frameworks that reflect experience with vocabulary but still lack deep understanding; and 3) some new misconceptions about genetic drift emerge as students comprehend more about evolution. 相似文献
18.
The reasoning patterns used by a sample of Western Australian secondary school students aged 13‐16 were investigated with regard to the following reasoning modes: proportional reasoning, controlling variables, probabilistic reasoning, correlational reasoning, and combinatorial reasoning. There was a wide range in students’ reasoning abilities at all year levels. Large percentages of students did not use formal operational reasoning patterns when they attempted to solve problems assessing their ability to use each of the five reasoning modes. Commonly used, but incorrect reasoning patterns were identified for each reasoning mode. The students’ ability to use formal reasoning patterns was found to be an important factor in determining student achievement in lower secondary science, in their selection of year 11 science subjects, and their achievement in these subjects. The results of the study indicate that it is important for teachers to be aware of the reasoning patterns of their students and the cognitive demands of course content, so that they can optimally match the content and their teaching strategies with the abilities of their students. Further research is needed to establish the nature of instruction which might best facilitate cognitive growth. 相似文献
19.
Research suggests that conventional teaching techniques have proved largely ineffective for dealing with the problem of science students’ misconceptions or alternative frameworks. This paper reports an investigation whereby inter‐personal conflict within dyadic interactions is used as a strategy for promoting development towards correct scientific conceptions in specific areas of electrical circuits and mechanics amongst first‐year tertiary physics students. The data indicate that a large number of physics students at the tertiary level hold non‐scientific conceptions of these physical phenomena. The dyadic interaction strategy proved effective as a means of encouraging students to actively and closely consider their own thinking about basic physical concepts. Further, results highlight the importance of inter‐personal conflict in the process of conceptual change. 相似文献
20.
Anton E. Lawson 《科学教学研究杂志》1982,19(1):63-77
Numerous persons have suggested that instruction should match the developmental level of the learner. Are “concrete operational” college students developmentally the same as “concrete operational” seventh grade students thus in need of identical instruction? Matched concrete operational seventh grade and college students were given identical classroom instruction in probabilistic and correlational reasoning. The college students performed significantly better on posttest measures which appeared to require greater processing of information while significant differences did not exist on less difficult items. Level of cognitive development, field independence, and fluid intelligence correlated moderately with posttest performance for the seventh grade students. Field independence and fluid intelligence correlated moderately with posttest performance for the college students but not pretest knowledge of specific biological concepts and cognitive level. It was concluded that college students are more responsive to instruction due either to (1) greater amount of experience or (2) greater information processing capacity. Implications for science teaching are discussed. 相似文献