The majority of undergraduates lack advanced reasoning patterns, which are necessary for significant achievement in college science courses. The purpose of this paper is to review the studies of various instructional practices in introductory college biology courses that claim to develop reasoning. Most of these were non-traditional,…

In a previous study, we posited a link between Chinese sixth grade students' problem solving and problem posing based on a pattern-formation strategy (Cai & Hwang, 2002). A similar parallel structure between problem solving and problem posing did not obtain for the U.S. sixth graders in the study. The present study attempts to locate this type of…

Children ages 3 to 5 years old are observed in a series of 3 experiments assessing their use of counterfactual thinking in causal reasoning. Results suggest that young children readily interpret the cause of an outcome in terms of a contrast between the observed sequence of events, and a counterfactual alternative in which the outcome did not…

This study examined cognitive ability, short-term verbal memory, and speech perception in relation to phonological awareness in 42 gifted and 49 regular 3rd and 4th graders and in 61 prereading kindergartners. Those with higher cognitive reasoning skills scored higher on tasks of phonological awareness than those with lower reasoning skills.…

Describes a study designed to address the difficulties computer science undergraduates have in learning formal reasoning methods. Computer-based tools providing a mixture of graphical and textual on-screen help were evaluated, and results indicate the tools had a positive effect on the learning process. (Author/LRW)

To enhance the study of abstract knowledge and to make it a central concern in the study of cognition, and to explore the nature of abstractions and the function of abstraction, the seven chapters in this special issue formulate researchable hypotheses, propose working hypotheses, identify major phenomena, and outline possible educational…

Two studies examined young children's ability to understand whether the actions of artifacts, insects, mammals, or humans were caused by mental or physical states. The studies suggest that children abstract specific features of action when construing its cause across disparate situations and actors. (MDM)

Examines classic fairy tales, noting the lack of attention given the role of imagination in children's learning. Discusses features of fairy stories such as structure, oppositional concepts, and emotional component, then infers four principles about young children's learning. Gives two examples of how these principles can influence teaching to be…

Proposes a new conceptual framework, embedded in a dynamic model, that accounts for children's failure to reason transitively. Examines five different models of transitive reasoning. Develops a model of how children initially represent and then use the ordered information available in the transitive inference model and how these processes change…

The relationship between argumentation and informal reasoning is discussed, followed by a consideration of instructional factors that influence argumentation performance. An account of one expert student reasoner is provided. Instruction in argumentation is reviewed, and suggestions are made for argumentation based on classroom experience. (SLD)

This study examined the problem-solving protocols of 21 students in a grade 11 enriched physics course as well as 3 adult "experts" in physics. Experts and high performing students made more correct metastatements and more references to prior knowledge than did average performing students. (DB)

This article addresses the close relationship between reasoning skills and literacy, especially in the context of the education of students with deafness. The importance of providing deaf learners with cognitive strategy instruction applied to various aspects of literacy is stressed. (DB)

Discusses geometrical reasoning in the framework of the theory of Figural Concepts to highlight the interaction between the figural and conceptual components of geometrical concepts. Examples of students' difficulties and errors in geometrical reasoning are interpreted according to the internal tension that appears in figural concepts resulting…

This paper reviews special considerations in teaching higher order thinking skills to students with mild disabilities, focusing on curriculum implications; principles of instruction (prior knowledge, connections between new and existing knowledge, self-regulated learning, and impact of social setting); the use of an anchored instructional…

Evaluation of the relationship between metacognition and analogical reasoning in 80 children (mildly retarded, learning disabled, normal achieving, and gifted) suggests that retarded children's performance reflected a central processing deficiency across processes, learning-disabled children's performance reflected specific processing…