Formal Reasoning Ability Research Articles

A comparison of applied and theoretical knowledge of concepts based on the particulate nature of matter

AbstractThis study compares 183 high school chemistry students' applied and theoretical knowledge of selected concepts based on the particulate theory. The concepts are dissolution, diffusion, effusion, and states of matter. A two‐form instrument called the Physical Changes Concepts Test (PCCT) was developed for this study. The application form measures students' knowlege using everyday language. The theoretical form measures students' knowledge using scientific language. Students' formal reasoning ability was measured using the Test Of Logical Thinking (TOLT). The overall results of the two forms of the PCCT indicate that more than 40% of the students displayed alternative conceptions (ACs) of the concepts covered in the PCCT. The study found that students' formal reasoning ability and their preexisting knowledge are associated with their conceptions and use of the particulate theory. The analysis of the nature of students' ACs and their use of the particulate theory revealed a significant difference between students' applied and theoretical knowledge.

Addressing the Needs of the Concrete Reasoner

concepts like element, density and electron have attributes that are not directly observable; concrete concepts like insect, plant and rock have properties that are observable. Karplus (1977) examined nine typical concepts routinely presented to high school students: density, temperature cell, gene, environment, chemical bond, periodic system of elements, acid-base and ideal gas in terms of what reasoning patterns must be used to understand them. Temperature, cell, environment and acid-base can be presented in either concrete or abstract terms, depending upon the meaning used [i.e. temperature, either as a sensation (concrete) or as a measure of the average molecular kinetic energy in a system (abstract)]. All the others-gene, density, chemical bond, periodic system and ideal gas-can only be defined in terms of other concepts, abstractions, theories and or mathematical relationships and thus require formal reasoning ability to comprehend them. Simpson and Marek (1988) concluded that only formal reasoners were able to fully comprehend diffusion, homeostasis and food production in plants because of the multiple operational processes the student must entertain simultaneously and/or because of the abstract nature of each of the concepts. Mitchell & Lawson (1988) reported that the major source of difficulty for college students in solving genetics problems was found to lie in their lack of appropriate hypothetico-deductive reasoning skills (e.g. combinatorial, probabilistic and proportional reasoning abilities). It came as a surprise to me that many educators who responded to my article (Trifone 1987) on assessing formal reasoning ability were not aware of the percentage of their students capable of only concrete reasoning. This is not new information. Lawson and Renner (1975a), among others, have reported that nearly 65 percent of high school and 50 percent of college students (Lawson 1980) are at the concrete operational level. Recently, in my research using the Test of Logical Thinking (TOLT) to assess formal reasoning ability, more than 75 percent of freshmen and more than 60 percent of sophomores operate at the concrete operational level (Trifone 1989, unpublished data). In addition, in discussions with colleagues I have found that the reasoning abilities of the concrete reasoner have never been stressed to the secondary level educator. Many of my colleagues have for years assumed that if they simply used models and diagrams of abstract concepts, any student would be able to master most if not all of the abstract concepts typical of a high school scienceconcepts typical of a high school science

Improving the Scientific Thinking of Preservice Secondary Science Teachers

Previous studies indicate that many preservice science teachers lack facility with those formal reasoning patterns that are critical for learning science. The purpose of this project was to develop, implement and evaluate a curriculum package directed at improving preservice secondary ~,cience teachers' scientific thinking. A matched treatment-control, quasi-experimental design revealed significant gains achieved through use of the curriculum materials. INTRODUCTION Formal reasoning ability has been found to be an important factor influencing student learning in high school science. Studies in the United States (Cantu & Herron, 1978; Lawson & Renner, 1975; Sayre & Ball, 1975) and Australla (Garnett, Tobin & Swingler, 1985) have indicated that science achievement and the understanding of science concepts are significantly related to students' ability to use formal reasoning patterns. Similarly, Padilla, Okey and Dillashaw (1983) found that facility with science process skills _correlates strongly with formal reasoning ability. These findings provide substantial support for the view (De Career, Gabel & Staver, 1978; Lawson, 1985) that a major goal of science education must be to promote the development of students' formal reasoning abililty. It has been shown that a significant number ofpreservice science teachers lack facility with those formal reasoning patterns that are necessary for working on scientific investigation tasks (Garnett & T obin,1984). Such cognitive limitations are likely to reduce their effectiveness in teaching high school students the scientific thinking skills associated with materials-centred science curricula (robin & Garnet!, 1984). Some researchers have investigated whether students' ability to use formal reasoning skills can be improved by instruction. This research has, for the most part, focused on attempts to teach specific reasoning patterns. In a comprehensive review, Lawson (1985) conduded that such training procedures can be successful and that the degree of success depends on the age of students, the length and diversity of the training experiences and the extent to which students are confronted with thought-provoking situations and placed in control of their own actions. 20 Volume 15, No. 2, 1990 AllstralianJournal a/Teacher Education The aim of this study was to implement and evaluate the effectiveness of an educational intervention designed to teach preservice secondary science teachers those formal reasoning patterns necessary for conducting scientific investigations.

The relationship between abstract concept achievement and prior knowledge, formal reasoning ability and gender

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between the achievement of some abstract concepts in molecular genetics as a dependent variable and a set of the following three independent variables: prior knowledge, formal reasoning, ability and gender. The major conclusions of this study are: (1) that prior knowledge and formal reasoning ability play a major role in students’ achievement of abstract concepts; and (2) that the effect of students’ prior knowledge on this achievement seems to exceed that of formal reasoning ability. Gender has little effect on the attainment of abstract concepts.

Sex differences in formal reasoning ability: Task and interviewer effects

Science EducationVolume 73, Issue 1 p. 101-113 Learning Sex differences in formal reasoning ability: Task and interviewer effects Michael D. Piburn, Michael D. Piburn Education Department, Westminster College of Salt Lake City, Salt Lake City, Utah 84105Search for more papers by this authorDale R. Baker, Dale R. Baker Department of Educational Studies, The University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah 84112Search for more papers by this author Michael D. Piburn, Michael D. Piburn Education Department, Westminster College of Salt Lake City, Salt Lake City, Utah 84105Search for more papers by this authorDale R. Baker, Dale R. Baker Department of Educational Studies, The University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah 84112Search for more papers by this author First published: January 1989 https://doi.org/10.1002/sce.3730730109Citations: 5AboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat Citing Literature Volume73, Issue1January 1989Pages 101-113 RelatedInformation

Formal reasoning ability and misconceptions concerning genetics and natural selection

AbstractStudents often hold misconceptions about natural phenomena. To overcome misconceptions students must become aware of the scientific conceptions, the evidence that bears on the validity of their misconceptions and the scientific conceptions, and they must be able to generate the logical relationships among the evidence and alternative conceptions. Because formal operational reasoning patterns are necessary to generate these logical relationships, it was predicted that, following instruction, formal operational students would hold significantly fewer misconceptions than their concrete operational classmates. To test this hypothesis 131 seventh‐grade students were administered an essay test on principles of genetics and natural selection following instruction. Responses were categorized in terms of the number of misconceptions present. The number of misconceptions was compared to reasoning ability (concrete, transitional, formal), mental capacity (<6, 6, 7), verbal intelligence (low, medium, high), and cognitive style (field dependent, intermediate, field independent). The only student variable consistently and significantly related to the number of misconceptions was reasoning ability; thus, support for the major hypothesis of the study was obtained.

Achievement Test Scores in the Middle Grades: The Influence of Cognitive Reasoning

The purpose of this study was to examine how middle school students' cognitive reasoning level (e.g. concrete versus formal reasoning ability) contributes to the variability of their achievement test performance. While previous investigations have indicated that measures of reasoning development are associated with measures of achievement, few such studies have attempted to control for differences in scholastic aptitude. In this particular investigation, the performance of 213 middle grades students on a test of formal reasoning was analyzed in comparison with scores on tests of achievement and scholastic aptitude. Results support cognitive reasoning as a significant correlate of achievement test performance when considered alone and when controlling for scholastic aptitude. Results suggest that performance on reasoning tests is related to performance on achievement tests in a fashion different from performance on scholastic aptitude tests. Results further encourage middle grades educators to consider students' levels of reasoning when planning instruction.

Validity considerations for research on integrated‐science process skills and formal reasoning ability

Validity considerations for research on integrated‐science process skills and formal reasoning ability

The role of cognitive factors in chemistry achievement

AbstractEvidence from the research literature suggests that a variety of cognitive factors is responsible for chemistry achievement. This investigation examined the role of four cognitive factors, namely, formal reasoning ability, prior knowledge, field dependence/ independence, and memory capacity on achievement in chemistry as measured by tests of laboratory application, chemical calculations and content knowledge. The sample comprised grade 11 students from eleven high schools who were following the same chemistry syllabus. The results indicated that prior knowledge and formal reasoning ability were each statistically significantly related to variation in chemistry achievement. Field dependence/independence and memory capacity played no significant role in chemistry achievement.

The role of target students in the science classroom

AbstractThis study investigated whole class interactions in 200 science lessons involving 15 teachers and students from grades 8 to 12 in two urban Australian high schools. A relatively small number of 3–7 “target students” monopolized whole class interactions. In most instances target students were male. Compared to others in the class, target students asked more questions of the teacher, were called on to respond to higher cognitive level questions, and received higher quality feedback. Two types of target student were identified. The students who actively participated in classroom interactions in a self‐initiated manner tended to accept responsibility for their academic achievement and for interactions with others. The second type of target student, who participated as a consequence of being selected by the teacher, tended to have higher formal reasoning ability and achieve at a higher level than others in the class.

Patterns of nonverbal behavior among adolescents responding to a formal reasoning task.

This study investigated nonverbal behavior patterns of 11 adolescents who responded to the Inhelder-Piaget (1958) balance task, which provides an assessment of proportional reasoning and was the first study of how students behave while being assessed for formal reasoning ability. Interdependency among the precisely defined categories of behavior was found, even when the categories were collapsed on a conceptual basis. Consequences of this categorical interdependency were discussed.

A study of the relationship among type and quality of implementation of science teaching strategy, student formal reasoning ability, and student engagement

AbstractThe objective of this study was to identify the relationship between the type and quality of science teaching strategy and student engagement. Teachers and their students in middle and high schools were observed on ten occasions. A total of 60 observations were made of all teachers and ten of each of their students. During each observation period, the type and quality of implementation of teaching strategy was identified and student engagement was rated. Data collected were examined by regression analyses. The results indicated that the type and quality of implementation of teaching strategies did significantly and positively relate to student engagement. Analyzed individually, the type of teaching strategy predicted 12 per cent of the variance in engagement, while the quality of teaching strategy predicted 35 per cent. Overall, the type and quality of teaching strategy predicted 37 per cent of the variance in engagement. The data also showed that the more indirect the teaching strategy, the greater the students' involvement in learning tasks.

Aptitude treatment effects of laboratory grouping method for students of differing reasoning ability

AbstractThis study examines aptitude treatment effects in an inquiry/learning cycle based physical science class for elementary education majors. The aptitude was formal reasoning ability and the students were arranged into three groups: high, middle, and low ability reasoners. The treatment was method of forming groups to work in the laboratory. Students in each of three classes were grouped according to reasoning ability. In one class the laboratory groups were homogeneous, i.e., students of similar reasoning ability were grouped together. In the second class the students were grouped heterogeneously, i.e., students of different reasoning ability were grouped together. In the third class, the student choice pattern, the students chose their own partners. The findings were that there were no aptitude treatment interaction for achievement or for gain in formal reasoning ability, that grouping students of similar cognitive ability together for laboratory work in the class was more effective in terms of science achievement than grouping students of differing cognitive ability together or than allowing students to choose their own partners, and that students at different levels of reasoning ability experienced differential gains in that ability over the semester.

The effect of grouping of laboratory students on selected educational outcomes

AbstractThe purpose of this study was to discover if grouping students in the laboratory on the basis of their formal reasoning ability affected (1) their science content achievement, (2) their formal reasoning ability, (3) the learning environment in the laboratory, and (4) the relationships between individuals in a particular group. The laboratory groups for three physical science classes for preservice elementary teachers were arranged as follows: (1) one class with students of unequal reasoning ability grouped together, i.e., one highly developed formal reasoner per group (the heterogeneous group), (2) one class with students of similar reasoning ability grouped together (the homogeneous group), and (3) one class arranged in groups according to the desires of the class members (the student choice group). The three classes were compared using pre‐and post‐scores on content and formal reasoning instruments and scores for classroom environment and social relationships. Results indicated that the groupings as described had significantly different effects on science content achievement but not on any of the other questions posed above. The students in the class with laboratory teams grouped by student choice had significantly lower science content scores than the students in the classes with teams formed using either the heterogeneous or homogeneous grouping procedures. The difference between the heterogeneously and homogeneously grouped classes was not significant at the 0.05 level.

Cultural diversity and differences in formal reasoning ability

AbstractTo test the hypothesis that cultural diversity contributes to the development of formal reasoning, samples of adolescents from three predominately white middle‐class communities located in areas that varied in the extent to which they offered cultural diversity (i.e., rural, suburan homogeneous, suburban heterogeneous) were administered a test of formal reasoning and a test of analytical intelligence. Results showed significant differences in formal reasoning in favor of the suburban heterogeneous sample on complex reasoning items. The suburban groups showed equal performance (but superior to the rural Ss) on the test of analytical intelligence. On the less complex reasoning items and on one item embedded in a rural farming context, the rural Ss showed relatively better performance. Implications for using science instruction to promote formal reasoning are discussed.

Reasoning Ability of Preservice Primary Teachers: Implications for Science Teaching

The study investigated formal reasoning ability of preservice primary teachers in a Western Australian teacher training institution. The paper explores the implications of a wide range in reasoning ability of teachers for teaching science in primary grade levels. Relationships between reasoning ability and prior studies in science, science elective choice in a preservice teacher education program, and integrated process skill achievement in a science education course were also investigated. A sample of 299 students enrolled in the second year of a preservice primary teacher education course participated in the study. The results of the study suggest that students with high formal reasoning ability are best equipped to teach primary science. As well as having the intellectual capacity to utilize formal modes of thinking during science lessons, students in this group are more likely to have studied physical science subjects at Year 12 level and to have engaged in science elective studies in the preservice teacher education program. In contrast, students with lower reasoning ability are likely to encounter significant difficulties in implementing an effective science program. In addition to problems associated with reasoning limitations, teachers from this group tend to have a background in biological sciences at Year 12 level and have usually avoided additional elective studies in science during their preservice teacher education program.

Relationships between formal reasoning ability, locus of control, academic engagement and integrated process skill achievement

AbstractTwelve pupils from each of thirteen middle school science classes participated in the study. Measures were obtained for each pupil on nine engagement modes. Two engagement measures, attending and generalizing, together with formal reasoning ability, were related to process skill achievement and retention. Formal reasoning ability was the strongest predictor of process skill achievement and retention, accounting for approximately 36% of the variance in each case. Formal reasoning ability and locus of control were each correlated with specific engagement modes. Formal reasoning ability was positively related with rates of generalizing and comprehending. Locus of control was significantly related with rates of attending and total engagement.

The Formal Operational Reasoning Test

Summary Educational researchers and psychologists have devoted considerable attention to the measurement of formal operational reasoning abilities. But the lack of suitable paper-and-pencil instruments has limited the quality and extent of assessment possible in regular classrooms and other group settings. The Formal Operational Reasoning Test (FORT) was developed to obviate such problems. Data (N = 300 seventh and eighth grade boys and girls) pertaining to the reliability, content validity, and construct validity of the FORT are reported. It is concluded that the FORT is a reliable and valid measure of formal operational reasoning abilities which is appropriate for use with Ss at or beyond the junior high school level.

IQ, Field Dependence-Independence, and the Development of Formal Operational Thought

Summary This study focused on the influence of field dependence-independence on the development of formal operational thought during early adolescence. The Group Embedded Figures Test and three paper-and-pencil logical reasoning tests involving second-order operations were administered to 450 sixth, seventh, and eighth grade boys and girls. The results showed that the relationships between field dependence-independence and formal operational reasoning abilities were due largely to their common overlap with IQ. The findings are discussed in terms of the acquisition and utilization of formal thought structures.

Further Examination of Formal Operational Reasoning Abilities

ROBERGE, JAMES J., and FLEXER, BARBARA K. Further Examination of Formal Operational Reasoning Abilities. CHILD DEVELOPMENT, 1979, 50, 478-484. 3 paper-and-pencil formal operations tests were administered to groups of eighth graders and adults. These measures provided scores that indicated each subject's level of reasoning for 3 second-order operations (i.e., combinations, proportionality, and propositional logic). Analyses of correct responses showed that adults scored significantly higher than eighth graders on the combinations and proportionality tests and that the interdependence of the 3 formal operational reasoning abilities was minimal. The results also suggested that the order of acquisition of these formal operations skills was combinations -) propositional logic --) proportionality. Implications for Piaget's theory of formal operations are discussed.