The paper describes the development of the Test of Logical Thinking (TOLT) to measure five modes of formal reasoning: controlling variables, proportional reasoning, combinatorial reasoning, probabilistic reasoning, and correlational reasoning. Each of the 10 items requires participants to select a correct response and justification from a number of alternatives. Analysis of data from 682 students from grades 6 through college indicated high test reliability (coefficient α = .85) and provided confirmation that the test measured one major underlying dimension termed formal thought. Evidence of criterion-related validity was obtained from a study in which 88 students from grades 10 through college were assessed on the TOLT and on five interview tasks. A correlation of .80 (p < .0001) suggested a strong relationship between the two measures of formal reasoning.
Relationships are described between teacher variables, pupil engagement, and science achievement. Teacher wait time (TWT), the length of the pause preceding a teacher utterance, and quality of questioning were manipulated in the study. Questioning quality comprises cognitive level, clarity, and relevance of questioning. Thirteen middle-school teachers were randomly assigned to groups to receive feedback on TWT and questioning quality, TWT only, questioning quality only, or placebo feedback only. The feedback was intended to increase TWT beyond 3 sec and to enhance questioning quality. Twelve pupils were selected from each class as data sources for nine engagement measures. Formal reasoning ability, locus of control, and achievement measures were obtained for all pupils. Two engagement measures, attending and generalizing, were enhanced when a mean TWT of approximately 3 sec was used and when questions were relevant, clear, and at a variety of cognitive levels. Formal reasoning ability was significantly related to generalizing, and locus of control was significantly related to attending. Variation in science achievement was significantly related to variation in TWT, attending, generalizing, and formal reasoning ability.Requests for reprints should be sent to Kenneth G.
Twelve 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.
IntroductionAn understanding of classroom learning requires careful analyses of the variables that constitute the learning environment. Among those that are most likely to influence learning are teacher and pupil discourse since verbal interaction is the principle mode of communication in most classrooms. For example, through the use of appropriate questions, teachers can provide pupils with a cognitive focus on the instructional objectives. Similarly, a clear explanation in response to a pupil question can clarify misunderstandings that might otherwise inhibit learning. Thus, the quality of the verbal interaction may directly affect the amount of learning that occurs. Although much of the research on verbal interaction has dealt with aspects of teacher questioning, the results have tended to be inconsistent (cf. Winne 1979). In contrast, a variable called wait-time, which is related to the duration of certain pauses between speakers, has been shown to have a consistent effect on the quality of verbal interaction in classrooms.If teacher discourse is to influence pupil learning, the information contained in the discourse must be cognitively processed by the learner. As a consequence, the rate at which information is presented should be matched with the cognitive processing capabilities of pupils. Cognitive processing of data is likely to be dependent on learner attributes such as cognitive aptitude and motivation state, as well as characteristics of the discourse. For example, processing time for cognitively complex discourse is expected to be greater than the time required to process less complex verbal information. Thus, as teachers provide pupils with information or provide a cognitive focus through soliciting, adequate time should be provided for all pupils to engage in an appropriate manner. To ensure that adequate time is provided, teachers should pause after solicitations or at regular intervals during explanations.The pause following pupil discourse is also of potential importance. As Rowe (1974 a) noted, speech is interspersed with pauses which range from quite short time intervals separating individual words to much longer intervals which occur as a speaker completes a segment of speech and pauses to consider what to say next. These time intervals often exceed three to five seconds. Siegman and Pope (1965) reported that the length of pauses in discourse increased in proportion to the difficulty of the task, whilst
The paper describes the development and validation of a group test of integrated process skills. The test assesses student performance on a set of twelve objectives related to the generic objective: planning and conducting an investigation. Evidence of content validity, construct validity, and reliability are presented in the paper. A range of generalizability coefficients from 0.77 to 0.98 is reported for specific uses of the 24‐item test. Since the items measure performance on objectives that can be readily translated into classroom activity, the test has direct applicability to classroom based research, and evaluation of instruction. In addition to sound psychometric properties, the Test of Integrated Science Processes is distincitve because it includes a set of interrelated, cumulative objectives which reflect autonomous problem solving.
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