This theoretical paper reevaluates the Piagetian tradition in the study of propositional reasoning. Piaget's assertion that children's logic, prior to the stage of formal operations, is structurally adequate for dealing with objects and their properties, but is inadequate for fully competent propositional reasoning, is challenged on three grounds:…

A total of 72 kindergarteners received eight conservation of number trials which varied in the degree of perceptual support for one-to-one correspondence (four levels) and type of stimuli (toy animals or corks). A between-subjects variable was the method of presentation (standard conservation presentation, a partially fixed array, or a fixed…

The concept of "structure" is discussed in connection with the biological and psychological sciences and shown, through a short historical analysis, to have been subject to imprecise use. The recent "structuralist movement" in the social sciences has also tended to cloud the meaning of structure rather than to clarify it. Using…

A study was undertaken to determine (1) if six student teachers who received instruction (in eight weekly individual or group training and feedback sessions) in the use of Bloom's taxonomy would operate within the classroom at a higher cognitive level than a control group of six who received equal time instruction using a placebo-type treatment;…

This study examined the effect of grouping teachers and students by conceptual level (CL) upon the teachers' information handling behavior. Twenty secondary school teachers were divided into two groups of 10 HCL and 10 LCL teachers according to their scores of the Paragraph Completion Test. Forty pairs of sixth graders were formed, each pair…

Training sessions for the development of active critical thinking skills with the aim of improving the quality of student decision making prepares them for a future in a rapidly changing society. (JD)

The development of children's comprehension of cause and effect relationships was studied in 68 kindergarten, first grade, and second grade children. (BRT)

Data from three studies with elementary and junior high school students are presented in support of the contention that facility in concrete operations is necessary and sufficient for competence in the simple syllogistic forms, while formal operations are required when dealing with conditional statements in certain more complex contexts.…

Two studies with first- and fifth-grade children in two learning tasks showed that preoperational children did not necessarily learn responses followed by a stimulus object previously instrumental in obtaining a reward, while postoperational subjects did. (Author/JMB)

This essay affirms that people are not, like insects, genetically compelled to live and work collectively. Above all, language separates us from the rest of the animal world, allowing us to depart from reflex activity to consider the ambiguous and unknown and formulate new ideas. (Text is in Spanish.) (CHK)

Using Raven Progressive Matrices Test items, this study developed an empirical measure of subjects' ability to create new problems. The relationship between this ability and problem solving skills was examined. A very low correlation was found between inventing and solving problems. Problem creation was more difficult than problem solving. (BS)

Eighty-seven fifth graders in Israel were randomly assigned to four different filmmaking courses, covering photography only, scenario design and photography, editing and photography, or all three activities. Filmmaking had a significant effect on the cultivation of eight mental skills. The editing activity cultivated four logical inference skills.…

An experimental study of children's confusion between if" and if and only if" statements when phrased in different language and used in different contexts (grades 4, 6, 8, and 10). (MM)