DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln - Francis P. Collea, Robert Fuller, Robert Karplus, Lester G. Paldy, and John W. Renner: Module 4: Formal Thought

ADAPT Program -- Accent on Developing Abstract Processes of Thought

Workshop Materials: Physics Teaching and the Development of Reasoning

Title

Module 4: Formal Thought

Authors

Francis P. Collea, California State University, Fullerton
Robert Fuller
Robert Karplus, University of California, Berkeley
Lester G. Paldy, SUNY, Stony Brook
John W. Renner, University of Oklahoma

Document Type

Article

Date of this Version

1975

Comments

Abstract

In Piaget’s theory, concrete thought is characterized by serial ordering, simple classification, conservation logic and other operations applied to objects that a person is able to observe or manipulate directly. Formal thought includes these operations but goes beyond them to utilize other processes in situations where one does not deal with tangible objects. Formal processes often involve proportional reasoning, separation of variables, elimination of contradictions, and class inclusion or exclusion operations.

Download

Tell a Colleague
Print
Download Adobe Reader

DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln