Education Commons^™

Module 11: Implementation And Suggested Readings

Module 11: Implementation and Suggested Readings

How useful are the ideas of stages of development and self-regulation in teaching? You are encouraged to try the concepts presented in this workshop in your teaching. Are they useful for you and yours students?

Module 9: The Learning Cycle

Module 9: The Learning Cycle

It is quite clear in the research related to the work of Piaget that persons need many years of practice in meaningful understanding and manipulating relationships with the aid of concrete-empirical props. Gradually they develop greater facility in performing these operations and they are able to perform the same operations without relying upon props. In other words, "hands-on", "eyes-on" experiences are essential prerequisites for the development of advanced reasoning abilities.

On the basis of this developmental theory, classroom activities may play a central role in the improvement of student reasoning. Given the possible importance of classroom experiences , does it …

Module 8: Self-Regulation

Module 8: Self-Regulation

How can students be made more aware of their own reasoning? This question identifies one aspect of formal thought. It must be answered if students are to proceed to formal operational thought by self-regulation, the process whereby an individual advances from one stage of development to the next. We have alluded to self-regulation in several of the earlier modules but concentrated on the characteristic reasoning patterns associated with each stage. In this module we shall describe self-regulation in detail.

Module 7: Analysis Of Textbooks

Module 7: Analysis of Textbooks

Probably you have had many students at the end of the semester tell you they could not read the text or else they read it and got nothing out of it. One cause of this could be a mismatch between the reasoning skills the student normally uses and the skills the textbook requires. As you read the text excerpts selected for your review, keep in mind the characteristics of concrete and formal reasoning as explained in Module 2. Also, remember that even students using formal reasoning find it easier and probably understand in a more broadly-based way if they can …

Module 6: Analysis Of Test Questions

Module 6: Analysis of Test Questions

You may be wondering how to apply the concept of developmental stages in your college teaching. To help you with this, we have prepared modules dealing with different aspects of instruction. Module 6 concentrates on the analysis and writing of test questions. As you read the examples we have selected, keep in mind the characteristics of concrete and formal reasoning described in Module 2. A matter that we find difficult to resolve concerns how to give all students, those using concrete reasoning and those formal reasoning practice in appropriate levels of problem solving. At the same time, evaluation through tests …

Module 10: Teaching Goals And Strategies

Module 10: Teaching Goals and Strategies

At this time in the workshop you may be wondering how you can begin to use the ideas of stages of reasoning and self-regulation immediately, without writing your own textbook or developing all new laboratory activities. Even though the teaching materials have a strong influence on your course, your own personal actions and approaches to the students can be very important as well. In this module we shall describe procedures that will enable you to make your teaching more effective in stimulating your students to use their existing reasoning patterns and to develop new ones by self-regulation. We shall also …

Module 5: College Student Research Findings

Module 5: College Student Research Findings

What is the level of college student performance on Piagetian tasks? You may not have noticed any of the investigations into the reasoning patterns of college students. These investigations tend to support what you have already discovered in this workshop.

Module 4: Interviews Of College Students

Module 4: Interviews of College Students

In Piaget's theory, concrete operational thought is characterized by serial ordering, simple classification, and conservation logic applied directly to objects. A person using concrete reasoning doing a Piagetian task must be able to observe objects and/or manipulate them. Formal operational thought involves proportional reasoning, separations or variables, elimination of contradictions, and class inclusion of exclusion operations. A person using formal reasoning is able to work in situations where one does not deal directly with tangible objects. A person using formal reasoning can apply concrete operations and can go beyond these operating when solving problems.

The Islands Puzzle

Module 1: How People Reason

The puzzle is about Islands A, B, C and D in the ocean. People have been traveling among these islands by boat for many years, but recently an airline started in business. Carefully read the clues about possible plane trips at present. The trips maybe direct or include stops and plane changes on an island. When a trip is possible, it can be made in either direction between the islands. You may make notes or marks on the map to help use the clues.

The Mealworm Puzzle

Module 1: How People Reason

Some experimenters wanted to test the response of mealworms to light and moisture. To do this they set up four boxes as shown in the diagram below. They used lamps for light sources and constantly watered pieces of paper in the boxes for moisture. In the center of each box they placed 20 mealworms. One day later they returned to count the number of mealworms that had crawled to the different ends of the boxes.

The Treasure Hunt Puzzle

Module 1: How People Reason

At the beginning of his novel The Hamlet, William Falconer mentions a legend of a treasure buried on an old plantation. Readers expect, naturally, that before the novel ends there will be a search for the treasure, and and Faulkner does not disappoint them.

Four major characters are soon introduced: Will, who is chief landowner thereabouts; Jody, Will's son and heir-apparent; Flem, a shrewd fellow working for Will; and Ratliff, an itinerant sewing machine salesman.

Faulkner had to decide who among these four characters would be "in on" the hunt for the buried treasure. Someday you may read the novel …

The Mr. Short / Mr. Tall Puzzle

Module 1: How People Reason

The figure below is called Mr. Short. We used large round buttons laid side-by-side to measure Mr. Short's height, starting from the floor between his feet and going to the top of his head. His height was four buttons. Then we took a similar figure called Mr. Tall and measured it in the same way with the same buttons. Mr. Tall was six buttons high.

Module 2 - Concrete And Formal Reasoning: Introduction

Module 2: Concrete and Formal Reasoning

You have just responded to a few puzzles and examined responses of students answering these same puzzles. Observations of many children and adolescents attempting to perform similar tasks have led Jean Piaget and other psychologists to formulate theories concerning the mental processes individuals use to deal with problem situations. In this module, we shall introduce you to the idea of concrete and formal reasoning, a feature of Piaget's theory we consider important for college teachers. Modules 3 and 4 will give you more details and examples to illustrate what we say here. The later modules will introduce you to other …

The Frog Puzzle

Module 2: Concrete and Formal Reasoning

Professor Thistlebush catches 55 frogs and bands the left hind leg before releasing them back into the pond. The next week he captures 72 frogs, of whom 12 have been banded from the previous capture. Estimate how many frogs are in the pond.

Puzzle Analysis Handout

Module 2: Concrete and Formal Reasoning

To give you some specific illustrations of how the reasoning patterns used by students can be related to Piaget's Theory we have prepared the following general analysis of responses to the puzzles in Module 1 and to the Frog Puzzle.

Module 3 - Formal Reasoning Patterns: Introduction

Module 3: Formal Reasoning Patterns

In Piaget's theory, concrete operational reasoning is characterized by patterns of serial ordering, simple classification, conservation reasoning, and other operations applied to objects that a person is able to observe or manipulate directly. Formal reasoning patterns include these operations but go beyond them to utilize other processes in situations where one does not deal with tangible objects. Formal patterns often involve proportional reasoning, separation of variables, and combinatorial reasoning.

The film "Formal Reasoning Patterns" Davidson Films, 1976) will enable you to watch two interviews (Dr. Karplus and Dr. Peterson) working with several secondary school students who exhibit concrete or formal …

Module 1 - How People Reason - Overview

Module 1: How People Reason

You have probably been puzzled at various times in your teaching career by the thinking strategies that students appear to use to solve problems. It is difficult for most of us to understand that many students do not use reasoning patterns that seem obvious to us. Many students substitute numbers into a formula they remember even though the formulas may not be applicable to the problem at hand. This situation quite naturally leads us to wonder about the reasoning that students utilize when we would employ mental operations such as separating variables, excluding an irrelevant factor, or applying a mathematical …

Module 0: Orientation - Overview

Module 0: Orientation

Welcome to the Workshop on College Teaching and the Development of Reasoning. This Orientation Module describes the overall program for the sessions.

Evaluation Of An Adult Education Technology Program, Iwasan D. Kejawa Ed.D

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the adult education technology program at a chartered alternative adult education center in Florida. The adult education center had a low rate of students passing the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT). This study examined the impact of the use of computer technology in an effort to improve student learning in mathematics, reading, and science. Computers at the institution were used by all students for tutorials to prepare them for the FCAT and to obtain a high school diploma. The research questions for this study were as follows: 1. Is the education technology …

Retention Of First-Generation Mexican American Paraeducators In Teacher Education: The Juggling Act Of Nontraditional Students, Amanda Morales, Gabriela Díaz De Sabatés, Cristina Fanning, Kevin Murry

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Faculty Publications

This paper discusses the dynamics and challenges encountered by culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) paraeducators who are participating in a 2+2, distance-delivered, teacher education program in the Midwest. The theoretical framework that serves as the basis of this case study is Thomas and Collier’s Prism Model (Collier, 19878: Collier & Thomas, 1989; Thomas & Collier, 1997), which focuses on the four essential dimensions of the student biography (linguistic, socio-cultural, academic, and cognitive). This case study should be understood as an account of the lived experiences of 30 CLD paraeducators in a unique recruitment and retention program designed to support all …

Entrepreneurial Career Development: Using Human Capital, Social Capital, And Distance Education To Achieve Success, Connie I. Reimers-Hild, Susan Fritz, James W. King

Kimmel Education and Research Center: Faculty and Staff Publications

Individuals, especially women, must be increasingly entrepreneurial in the twenty-first century in order to achieve success. It is also important for women to take an entrepreneurial approach to career development. The first key component of an entrepreneurial approach to career development is investing in human capital. Continuous investment in human capital increases earning power, opens doors to professional opportunities, and contributes to career advancement. The second key component of an entrepreneurial approach to career development is investing in social capital. Women can increase their chances for professional success by developing networks that connect them to key individuals, assignments, and resources …

A Dynamic Professional Development School Partnership In Science Education, Lawrence C. Scharmann

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Faculty Publications

The author describes the evolution of a traditional on-campus secondary science methods course into a dynamic field- and campus-based professional development school collaboration. Whereas science teaching methods were taught in an isolated and independent course, they are now integrated within an interdependent experiential semester that carefully integrates teaching methods, professional seminars, interpersonal relations, classroom management, reading strategies, and multicultural education into a dynamic field-based curriculum for preservice teachers. A faculty team from the Kansas State University (KSU) Department of Secondary Education conducted a series of meetings to establish a collaborative climate in which to investigate the benefits of simultaneous reform …

G07-1677 Rhizopus Head Rot Of Sunflower In Nebraska, Robert M. Harveson

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension: Historical Materials

Sunflower crops grown in Nebraska are susceptible to diseases caused by bacteria, viruses and nematodes, but the most economically damaging is head rot, caused by the fungal pathogen Rhizopus. This 2007 NebGuide discusses the pathogen, disease history, symptoms, and management.

G07-1676 Ascochyta Blight Of Chickpeas In Nebraska, Robert M. Harveson

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension: Historical Materials

Ascochyta blight is the most serious chickpea disease worldwide. Integrating genetic resistance, crop rotation, and fungicide application is the best way to manage the disease and is discussed in this 2007 NebGuide.

G07-1714 Drinking Water: Iron And Manganese, Bruce I. Dvorak, Sharon Skipton, Wayne Woldt, Gyanendra Prasai

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension: Historical Materials

Common water contaminants iron and manganese are not health hazards but can cause offensive taste, appearance and staining. Testing and treatment options are available for public and private water supplies and are discussed here in this 2007 NebGuide.

G07-1766 Rust Of Dry Bean, Robert M. Harveson, James R. Steadman, Howard F. Schwartz

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension: Historical Materials

Rust is a disease that affects dry beans and can dramatically reduce yields. Integrating cultural, host resistance, and chemical management practices can help protect crops and discusses here in the 2007 NebGuide.

G07-1782 First Generation European Corn Borer Scouting And Treatment Decisions, R. J. Wright, Robert J. Wright

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension: Historical Materials

The decision to treat for European corn borer is complex and affected by many variables such as weather, plant maturity, borer survival and development, anticipated corn prices, insecticide efficacy, and costs versus anticipated returns. This 2007 NebGuide discusses the factors growers need to consider when assessing the need for control of first generation European corn borers in non-Bt corn.

Ec07-2508 Fumigating Farm-Stored Grain With Aluminum Phosphide, Clyde Ogg, Thomas W. Dorn

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension: Historical Materials

Fumigants kill all insect life stages. They control pests by diffusing through the air spaces between grain kernels and into the kernel itself. Fumigants are able to penetrate into places that are inaccessible to insecticide sprays or dusts.

This publication is designed to help provide direction to farmers who have private pesticide applicator licenses and who decide to do the fumigation themselves.

Ec07-101 2007 Spring Seed Guide, Lenis Alton Nelson, Bruce Anderson, Robert N. Klein, Richard B. Ferguson, David D. Baltensperger, Charles A. Shapiro, Stevan Z. Knezevic, James Krall

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension: Historical Materials

This circular is a progress report of variety and hybrid performance tests conducted by the Agronomy/Horticulture Department, the Northeast, West Central and Panhandle Research and Extension Centers, the South Central Agricultural Laboratory as part of the University of Nebraska and University of Wyoming at Torrington. Conduct of experiments and publication of results is a joint effort of the Agricultural Research Division and the Cooperative Extension Service. The following pages include the results of our variety testing programs for many crop species throughtout the state. We hope you find this information useful as you make hybrid and variety decisions for next …

Using Analogies To Improve The Teaching Performance Of Preservice Teachers, Mark C. James, Lawrence C. Scharmann

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Faculty Publications

Abstract: Prior research in both education and cognitive science has identified analogy making as a powerful tool for explanation as well as a fundamental mechanism for facilitating an individual’s construction of knowledge. While a considerable body of research exists focusing on the role analogy plays in learning science concepts, relatively little is known about how instruction in the use of analogies might influence the teaching performance of preservice teachers. The primary objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between pedagogical analogy use and pedagogical reasoning ability in a sample of preservice elementary teachers (PTs), a group that …