The theories of Jean Piaget and William Perry provide two different theories of intellectual development with several similiarities, but also with critical differences. In this study a comparison was made to determine whether the two theories describe operation of the same mental structures or two fundamentally different aspects of intellectual development. The results, based upon individual interviews of all participants, indicate that the two theories outline different and independent processes for assessing intellectual development.
Performance on five logical, spatial and formal tasks was used to make inferences about the reasoning structures of the subjects. The tasks used were: seriation matrix, tilt of a cone, location of a point in two and three dimensions, flexible rods and projection of shadows. Three research questions were asked: first, what is the general level of performance; second, are there grade level differences; and third, are there gender differences in task performance. The subjects were 101 middle and high school students chosen at random from the school population. Each task was given in an individual interview. Findings include grade level differences in performance and gender differences in performance on one of the tasks. Implications for classroom teachers were proposed.
In what order do certain related mental structures as proposed by Piaget develop? The structures evaluated in this study were measured by five tasks, which required the use of structures for seriation along two dimensions, measurement in two and three dimensions, projective spatial reasoning, proportions, and separation and control of variables. The sample consisted of 195 students from grades 6, 9, and 12, and from college. The students were given individual interviews with task materials for each structure. The responses were scored according to protocols, and the resulting data were analyzed using ordering analysis techniques to uncover possible hierarchical relationships and equivalences among the tasks. The results confirm a three-level hierarchy in which concrete logical groupings precede the development of concrete spatial groupings, which in turn precede the development of formal operational reasoning. The theoretical and practical implications of this sequence are suggested.A CONSIDERABLE BODY OF RESEARCH has used Piaget's model of intellectual development, often to classify student reasoning patterns as conSpecial thanks are due to Darrell Phillips for discussions concerning research design and task selection, recent refinements of the Grouping Model. and especially for his insights on the Location of a Point task.Requests for reprints should be sent to Michael Wavering, Department of Teacher Education, Fayetteville, AR 72701. 279 Downloaded by [Memorial University of Newfoundland] at 00:58 03 February 2015 280 Journal of Genetic PsychologyCrete, transitional, or formal, as can be seen in a review of the literature by Lawson (1985). Such general classification, however, does not provide information on the specific mental structures that are or are not being used, nor is it specific enough to use for more than gross diagnostic purposes.One purpose of this investigation was to look more closely at the relationship between an individual's use of concrete spatial structures and formal level mental structures. Flavell (1971) summarized previous research concerning developmental sequences by concluding that there are relationships among schema at various levels. Gelman and Baillargeon (1983), in their review of the research, questioned the notion of stages but allowed for developmental domains. Consequently, we designed this investigation to determine the order of attainment of two formal schemata, two groupings for spatial concrete reasoning, and one grouping for logical concrete operational reasoning.The concrete-level tasks selected represent the last grouping to develop in each set, according to the grouping model developed by Phillips (1982). The two formal tasks chosen assess separation and control of variables and proportional reasoning (Inhelder & Piaget, 1958). These tasks were also chosen because they are the basis for logical reasoning necessary for complete understanding of many classroom activities required of students in secondary schools and colleges.The developmental nature of Piaget's model s...
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