HR: 13:40h
AN: ED22E-01    [PDF]
TI: Student Levels of Cognitive Development: Establishing Links between Logical Thinking Skills and Success in Earth Science
AU: * Steer, D N
EM: steer@uakron.edu
AF: Department of Geology, The University of Akron, Akron, OH 44325-4101 United States
AU: McConnell, D A
EM: dam6@uakron.edu
AF: Department of Geology, The University of Akron, Akron, OH 44325-4101 United States
AU: Owens, K
EM: kowens@uakron.edu
AF: Department of Curricular and Instructional Studies, The University of Akron, Akron, OH 44325-4205 United States
AB: Students in inquiry-based, general education Earth Science courses were found to display a wide range of logical thinking skills that are known indicators of success in science courses. The Group Assessment of Logical Thinking instrument that tests six logical operations was administered on the first day of class and near the end of the course. Such tests can be used to assess a student's overall level of cognitive development (concrete, transitional or formal) and specific logical thinking strengths or weaknesses. Results from paired pre- and post-course logical thinking tests of 393 students indicated that 25% of the incoming students were concrete, 30% were transitional and 45% were formal thinkers. Concrete and transitional thinkers were far more likely to withdraw from or fail the course when compared to their formal thinking peers (35%, 25% and 10% respectively). Differences in scores between genders were significant with 210 females testing at 30% concrete, 35% transitional and 35% formal on the pretest compared to 183 males who tested 15% concrete, 25% transitional and 60% formal. Overall logical thinking scores of students increased significantly in every inquiry-based class with lecture-based classes showing overall lower increases. Post-test data indicated that there were fewer concrete thinkers (16% female, 7% male), little change in the number of transitional thinkers (30% female, 23% male) and more formal thinkers (54% female, 70% male) toward the end of the inquiry-based course. Scores on two of the logical operations, conservation and probability, were sufficient to separate those who received a high grade (A or B in course) from those were unsuccessful (D, F or withdrew). Students who score low in conservation operations (n=46) tend to rely on intuition rather than logic when trying to understand typical Earth System concepts such as plate tectonics, atmospheric processes and climate change. Students who score low in probability skills (n=46) have difficulty distinguishing the difference between unrelated, but possible, data and those data that confirm a supposition. Such skills are necessary to properly apply the scientific method. By the end of the course, unsuccessful concrete students improved conservation reasoning skills to the same levels of their higher performing concrete peers on the post-test but remained behind them in probability skills. Successful transitional thinkers (n=50) displayed better correlation-reasoning skills than their lower performing contemporaries (n=51). Correlation reasoning skills are necessary to understand some of the many causal relationships routinely developed in the Earth Sciences (e.g. those associated with plate tectonics and earthquakes or volcanoes; CO2 and global climate change).
DE: 6605 Education
DE: 9820 Techniques applicable in three or more fields
SC: Education and Human Resources [ED]
MN: 2003 Fall Meeting