University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Strategies used by high-school students in solving a rule induction task

Indeck, Ken

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/20490

Description

Title
Strategies used by high-school students in solving a rule induction task
Author(s)
Indeck, Ken
Issue Date
1993
Doctoral Committee Chair(s)
Gould, Orrin
Department of Study
Education
Discipline
Education
Degree Granting Institution
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Degree Name
Ph.D.
Degree Level
Dissertation
Keyword(s)
  • Education, Educational Psychology
  • Education, Secondary
  • Education, Sciences
Language
eng
Abstract
  • "The present study examined problem solving strategies used by high school students while working with a contrived task. The task was to determine the nature of a pattern formed by a sequence of playing cards. The subjects alternated between making a conjecture as to what rule determines which cards fit into the different positions of the sequence and then collecting more information about that sequence. Because these steps parallel key elements of ""the scientific method"" as it is typically characterized in precollege education, this investigation also provided the opportunity to examine the extent to which the component skills necessary to implement that method have become part of the subjects' working repertoire of skills that are brought to bear on a problem."
  • The subjects were typically found to make plausible conjectures in that the rules they generated were consistent with the available facts. The subjects usually did not entertain rival hypotheses and then try to distinguish which was best. Component parts of compound rules were usually not isolated for examination. Cards expected not to follow the sequence generally were not checked to see if in fact they did not fit the sequence. When prompted to do so, however, the subjects were able to generate alternative explanations and design methods for determining which was superior. This suggests that our current approach to public education does not prompt students to incorporate scientific method process skills for developing knowledge into their everyday life.
Type of Resource
text
Permalink
http://hdl.handle.net/2142/20490
Copyright and License Information
Copyright 1993 Indeck, Ken

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Graduate Dissertations and Theses at Illinois PRIMARY
Graduate Theses and Dissertations at Illinois
Dissertations and Theses - Education
Dissertations and Theses from the College of Education