Formal reasoning performance of higher secondary school students: Theoretical and educational implications

Abstract

The study investigat ed the structure and development offormal thought among tenth-, eleve nth-, and twelfth-grade students . The subjects of the study were the total numbers of students attending the science. the economic. and the other sections of two higher secondary schools. Students ' performance on a standardized Test of Logical Thinking (TOLT) was used as a measure of their cognitive abilities related to control ofvariables. proportional. probabilistic. correlational, and combinatorial reasoning. Students attending the different sections of study had significantly different TOLT performance. older students exhibited significantly better TOLT performance than younger ones, and boys perform ed significantly better on TOLT than girls did. The "rate " of development was, however, different for different reasoning modes and differences in school achievement between boys and girls did not tap differences in TOLT performance. Regression analysis showed that section of study. gender. grade level. and measures of school achievement contributed significantly to the prediction of TOLT performan ce. Factor analysis ofperformance on the ten TOLT items (two items from each reasoning mode) produced a two-and three-factor solution for the sample of boys and the sample of girls, respectively. The results indicate that different theoretical perspectives should be considered when evaluating cognitive development and that learning environm ents conducive to cognitive gro wth need to be designed and implemented.

Concept Learning versus Problem Solving: A Cognitive Difference

“…This is a significant problem for a large percentage of students who enroll in chemistry courses. Studies of the reasoning skills of students entering college consistently show that only about 25% are well equipped with the skills needed to solve conceptual problems (10)(11)(12). Our own researchin-progress data show that only 8% of high school juniors and 22% of college freshmen who are beginning a chemistry course enter with sufficient reasoning skills to have the potential to be successful conceptual problem solvers.…”

Admission test analysis of pre-service math-science teacher based on its related factors

“…Studies revealed several ways to measure this skill. The logical thinking test is an instrument that measures formal reasoning and cognitive abilities in a person which consists of five modes, namely, controlling variable, proportional reasoning, combinatorial reasoning, probabilistic reasoning, and correlational reasoning in coordinance with Piaget's developmental theory (Pogozhina, 2016;Tobin & Capie, 1981;Valanides, 1999). The most common test called the test of logical thinking (TOLT) developed by Tobin & Capie (1981).…”