Piagetian Concrete and Formal Cognitive Development and Ninth-Grade Achievement in Physical Science
The Purpose of this investigation was to determine if differences in achievement among ninth-grade physical science students are a function of the cognitive level of the physical science curriculum and students' stages of cognitive development. Jean Piaget's theory of cognitive development proposes that all students progress through a series of development stages but not necessarily at the same rate. The final two stages of Piaget's developmental theory are termed concrete and formal respectively and were the focal point of this study. A series of Piagetian tasks designed to reveal evidence of concrete and formal levels of development were administered to ninth-grade physical science students in each of the eight Muscogee County High Schools. An achievement test developed within the local school system was administered to each participating physical science student at the conclusion of the project. The Results of the investigation indicated that the majority of ninth-grade physical science students are at the concrete operational level of development. Formal operational ninth-grade students scored significantly higher (p < .05) on the achievement test than concrete operational students. An evaluation of the physical science curriculum revealed that approximately 52% of the objectives are formal in nature and may be inappropriate for the majority of ninth-grade students.
Ninth-Grade, Physical Science, Cognitive Development, Curriculum, Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research, Liberal Studies
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