The research articles published in the "Journal of Research in Science Teaching" in 1965, 1975, 1985, 1995, and in 2005 were surveyed to discover the extent to which they were theory driven. Carey and Smith's theory of the development of science epistemologies was used to frame the study. Specifically their theory posits that science…

We should dispense with use of the confusing term "null hypothesis" in educational research reports. To explain why the term should be dropped, the nature of, and relationship between, scientific and statistical hypothesis testing is clarified by explication of (a) the scientific reasoning used by Gregor Mendel in testing specific…

This study was concerned with student transition from concrete to formal cognitive functioning. Results of training 32 fifth-grade and 32 seventh-grade students indicated that instruction can effect the desired transition of ability to isolate and control variables. (SL)

Investigated and confirmed is a correlation between grades awarded on the basis of students' ability to respond with higher-order cognitive processes in college biology classes and performance on Piagetian-type tasks, in which cognitive style dimension of field dependence-independence was assessed for each student. (CS)

Twenty-three high school biology students using the Biological Sciences Curriculum Study (BSCS) Blue Textbook were administered a weight conservation and two volume conservation tasks. A majority performed below formal-operational level, indicating that these students would be likely to encounter difficuluty with BSCS Blue Version materials. (MLH)

Training consisting of concept acquisition tasks was given to elementary and secondary students (n=175). Results revealed that none of the five- and six-year-olds, approximately half of the seven-year-olds, and virtually all of the eight-year-olds responded successfully to the training. (PR)

Argues that the Piaget's epistemic subject is not supported by evidence and contains weaknesses. Concludes that the epistemic subject is dead and that continued acceptance of this aspect of Piagetian theory would be counterproductive. (PR)

Describes an investigation undertaken to evaluate whether or not the Purdue experimental program, through its concrete curricular materials and inquiry-oriented procedures, had been successful in promoting formal reasoning abilities in its students. Results indicated that concrete curricular materials and problems can promote the development of…

Showed that Piagetian measures of formal reasoning ability are significantly related to achievement, aptitude, and knowledge of the processes of science in a sample of college freshman and sophomore elementary education majors. (MLH)

Presents the results of two Piagetian conservation tasks administered to high school students. It was found that not many were at the formal operations level. Similar evidence is presented for college students. Concludes that development of formal thought must be a focus of all teachers. (DF)

This study, conducted with seventh graders, lends support to the Piagetian hypothesis that the development of formal operations is a prerequisite for the effective learning of the proportions concept. (MK)

Three Piagetian tests of formal reasoning were administered to 65 high school biology students after half of this group had been exposed to a training session involving the control of variables. Among the results of this study was that the concrete operational students benefited more from the training session than did the formal operational…

Students were classified as formal or concrete-operational using a battery of Piagetian tasks, a biology content examination, and a nonscience content examination. Based on the results it was concluded that Piagetian tasks are relatively content-free and can serve as realistic indicators of concrete and formal thinking abilities. (MLH)

Reports a procedure for training fifth and seventh grade students to substantially improve their understanding and use of controlled experimentation procedures. (SL)

Secondary science students were tested, using Piagetian tasks to determine their level of intellectual development, and then tested on scientific concepts classified as concrete or formal. Results showed significant multiple correlations between the scores on the tasks and the subject matter tests. (MLH)