This study presents a quantitative method for scoring concept maps generated by students learning introductory college chemistry. Concept maps measure the amount of chemical information the student possesses, reasoning ability in chemistry, and specific misconceptions about introductory and physical chemistry concepts. They provide a visualization…

This paper addresses issues in integrating higher order thinking into the general curriculum. Data are based on a series of telephone interviews conducted in April and May 1992 with six leading thinkers in educational reform. They included: (1) Michael Apple, John Bascom Professor of Curriculum, Instruction, and Educational Policy Studies at the…

Tutor training programs in composition which emphasize interpersonal skills while offering concentrated correctness doses of mechanics and grammar are inherently limiting. While interpersonal skills are important, they only superficially address the complex situation of tutoring. A prescription for a healthy tutor program, one which would allow…

This paper examines how levels of cognitive development affect participants'"adequateness" or ability to function in adventure groups. Twenty-three women who were newly elected or appointed officers of a university campus sorority participated in the study. Prior to the group experience, participants completed a paragraph-completion exercise to…

In this paper four programs are described in which children learn multidigit number concepts and operations with understanding: (1) the Supporting Ten-Structured Thinking projects, (2) the Conceptually Based Instruction project, (3) Cognitively Guided Instruction projects, and (4) the Problem Centered Mathematics Project. The diversity in these…

An examination of the interaction of social and cultural influences on body image development may yield an explanation for the development of eating disorder behavior, especially in understanding the special problems facing women athletes. There appear to be two major sociocultural factors influencing the development of body image in the…

Assisting students in the development of their ability to think has long been a basic goal of education. Creative thinking and critical thinking have been defined jointly as higher-order thinking based on fact and logic, insight and empathy; they are seen as necessary for problem solving, invention, and achievement. Because the primary goal of…

A research project explored the idea that reasoning develops in distinct phases of thinking as individuals journey from simplistic learning of facts to highly proficient consequence predicting of integrated relationships. These results were derived from a study that examined the thinking processes and problem-solving actions of 13 students and…

Although a psychological theory of stages of transformation in human development currently exists, organizational researchers have yet to elaborate and test any theory of organizational transformation of comparable elegance. According to the organizational stage theory being developed since 1974 by William Torbert, bureaucratic organization, which…

Developed as part of the Family, Infant, and Toddler Project, and intended as a guide for parent groups, the document focuses on such topics as instruction, child development, and family concerns related to children with handicaps. Individual topic guides provide information on ways to begin the parent group meeting, information to consider,…

The relationship between cognitive development and problem-solving skills is discussed. One approach for improving students' problem-solving skills rests in the application of cognitive development theories to instruction. Instructional strategies that facilitate cognitive development can be categorized into two groups: instruction that challenges…

An exploratory study of structured and unstructured play was conducted with a small number of severely disturbed and normal children 9 to 13 years of age. Specifically, the investigators characterized psychopathology from a cognitive-developmental perspective by focusing on the Piagetian "scheme" and its manifestation in the play and…

The goal of books in this series is to present work that is on the growing tip of research in cognitive development. The theme of this volume is children's logical and mathematical cognition, a field in which Piaget's influence has been extensive. In the first of the six chapters, Acredolo presents a new theory of the cognitive bases for…

Sixty adolescents, stratified by sex and grade level (i.e., 9th, 12th, and college sophomore) participated in an examination of Piaget's suggestion that the formal operations are prerequisite to the development of political idealism, abstract thought and future time perspective in adolescence. Analysis of the cognition data revealed that the…

Twelve papers describe recent developments at the Model Secondary School for the Deaf (MSSD) on the campus of Gallaudet College. Topics covered include the following: MSSD'S role as a change model; an Instrumental Enrichment project designed to increase adolescents' thinking skills; an approach integrating reading, English grammar, and composition…