Designed to accompany "Pixie," a philosophy reader for students in grades three and four, this instructional manual presents discussion plans, games, philosophical activities, and reasoning exercises so that the concepts in the reader can be readily operationalized in the classroom. The "Pixie" program focuses on abstract reasoning, ambiguity, and…

Two influential theories of intellectual development are reviewed and analyzed: the psychometric framework, based on the factorial composition of intelligence, and the Piagetian model, based on assimilation and accomodation through four stages of intellectual development. A third concept is the componential theory of intelligence, based on…

This paper presents a study designed to clarify the role of perceptual-attentional factors in the development of conservation, and relates the results to procedures for assessing conservation. Subjects were 192 first and second graders. The number and type of perceptual cues in the conservation of liquid quantity task were systematically varied.…

This study investigated the effects of combining interactive microcomputer simulations and concrete activities on the development of abstract thinking in elementary school mathematics. Students in grades 2-4 were assessed on tasks involving designs and patterns. (MNS)

Tested hypothesis that understanding validity of inference is a relatively late development by asking fourth and seventh graders and college students to sort sets of deductive arguments. None of fourth graders, 45 percent of seventh graders, and 85 percent of college students used validity as basis for distinguishing arguments. Experiments…

Determined that the majority of 299 preservice teachers did not use formal reasoning patterns when they attempted to solve a variety of problems. Results obtained for controlling variables and for proportional, probabilistic, correlational, and combinatorial reasoning are discussed with implications for middle/junior high school science teaching.…

Presents a qualitative analysis of a transcript of a critical-thinking reading lesson designed for sixth grade students. The analysis illustrates the relationship between critical thinking and reading comprehension and demonstrates that critical thinking can be promoted in everyday classroom instruction using regular classroom materials. (JD)

A study comparing 65 deaf and hearing Australian children, aged 7-13, found that deaf subjects were delayed in number and liquid conservation, but equally mature in justice reasoning. Deaf subjects were less likely to disagree with a reward allocation proposed by an adult and to make cognitive progress when encountering conflict. (Author/JDD)

A study with 57 second graders identified some logically irrelevant transformations that children considered relevant in relation to the weight of an object. Two logically relevant transformations, movement upward and movement downward, were irrelevant to the subjects, whether texture, continuity, temperature, and darkness were generally…

Because analogical reasoning plays a major role in content area reading comprehension, teachers should learn to teach analogy-solving skills and to identify the kinds of difficulties some elementary students will have in solving them. Analogies are statements of relationships wherein one term is similar to another term. Relationships in analogy…

This paper takes the position that logical knowledge is distinct from conceptual and procedural knowledge and can make a unique contribution to the understanding of knowledge acquisition. This view of logical knowledge departs from the traditional Piagetian view of stages and the overriding view of logic as the sole means of constructing new…

A study charting the development of grade school children's analogic reasoning used 26 second, fourth, fifth, and sixth grade students from lower middle class and higher middle class schools. The children were asked to explain concrete, interactive, and abstract concepts to an imaginary creature (a puppet). For half the items, an initial period of…

This guide for elementary grade teachers is designed to present a perspective for the social studies which will enable teachers, and hence their students, "to discern coherence, continuity and preciseness in the study of human affairs." It reflects on interdisciplinary approach, based on the relatedness of the social sciences and strongly…

Considers the effect of providing two different response modes, free response and a multiple choice format, on concrete-abstract performance. Suggests if task format plays a role in subject response, then it also enters into a person's score on some intelligence test measures. (Author)

Describes the design of a computer-based problem-solving tool for teaching abstraction and classification to elementary school students. The task involves reasoning with attribute blocks. The software keeps a detailed trace of the student's actions, allowing teachers to provide intelligent feedback to the student. Results of a pilot study of the…