Abstract
William Perry developed a theory of intellectual and ethical development based on interviews with college students. The later positions in his scheme relate to thinking that is typical of what has been termed ‘post-formal operations’ or ‘a fifth stage of cognitive development’, indicating that it could be considered to extend the stage theory developed by Jean Piaget. Piaget’s ideas were highly relevant to two key features of many school science curricula—the logic of experimental testing and the abstract nature of many science concepts. Perry’s work included students engaged in what could be considered more sophisticated thinking—such as working with multiple perspectives on a topic proposed by different theorists or reaching judgements when the available information is incomplete or inconsistent. This type of intellectual work is relevant to the school science curriculum in many national contexts where students are often expected to appreciate both the provisional nature of scientific knowledge and something of the interactions of science with wider society. School students may be asked to discuss socio-scientific issues where scientific knowledge informs, but is not sufficient for, decision-making. Rather, scientific considerations must be coordinated with those deriving from broader value systems, whilst taking into account the perspectives of different interest groups. Deanna Kuhn explored the development of children’s scientific thinking and critical thinking more generally. She identified a pattern that has strong parallels with Perry’s scheme.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Arlin, P. K. (1975). Cognitive development in adulthood: A fifth stage? Developmental Psychology, 11(5), 602–606.
Ashton-Jones, E., & Thomas, D. K. (1990). Composition, collaboration, and women’s ways of knowing: A conversation with Mary Belen. Journal of Advanced Composition, 10(2), 275–292.
Bloom, B. S. (1968). The cognitive domain. In L. H. Clark (Ed.), Strategies and tactics in secondary school teaching: A book of readings (pp. 49–55). London: MacMillan.
Bruner, J. S. (1960). The process of education. New York: Vintage Books.
Finster, D. C. (1989). Developmental instruction: Part 1. Perry’s model of intellectual development. Journal of Chemical Education, 66(8), 659–661.
Finster, D. C. (1991). Developmental instruction: Part 2. Application of Perry’s model to general chemistry. Journal of Chemical Education, 68(9), 752–756.
Flynn, J. R. (1987). Massive IQ gains in 14 nations: What IQ tests really measure. Psychological Bulletin, 101(2), 171.
Kohlberg, L. (1973). Stages and aging in moral development—Some speculations. The Gerontologist, 13(4), 497–502. https://doi.org/10.1093/geront/13.4.497.
Kramer, D. A. (1983). Post-formal operations? A need for further conceptualization. Human Development, 26, 91–105.
Krathwohl, D. R., Bloom, B. S., & Masia, B. B. (1968). The affective domain. In L. H. Clark (Ed.), Strategies and tactics in secondary school teaching: A book of readings (pp. 41–49). New York: The Macmillan Company.
Kuhn, D. (1999). A developmental model of critical thinking. Educational Researcher, 28(2), 16–46.
Kuhn, D., & Pearsall, S. (2000). Developmental origins of scientific thinking. Journal of Cognition and Development, 1(1), 113–129. https://doi.org/10.1207/S15327647JCD0101N_11.
Luria, A. R. (1976). Cognitive development: Its cultural and social foundations. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Medawar, P. B. (1963/1990). Is the scientific paper a fraud? In P. B. Medawar (Ed.), The threat and the glory (pp. 228–233). New York: Harper Collins, 1990 (Reprinted from: The Listener, Volume 70: 12th September, 1963).
Mitchell, S. D. (2003). Biological complexity and integrative pluralism. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Niaz, M., & Rodriguez, M. A. (2000). Teaching chemistry as a rhetoric of conclusions or heuristic principles—A history and philosophy of science perspective. Chemistry Education: Research and Practice in Europe, 1(3), 315–322.
Perry, W. G. (1970). Forms of intellectual and ethical development in the college years: A scheme. New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston.
Perry, W. G. (1985). Different worlds in the same classroom: Students’ evolution in their vision of knowledge and their expectations of teachers. On Teaching and Learning, 1(1), 1–17.
Piaget, J. (1970/1972). The principles of genetic epistemology (W. Mays, Trans.). London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.
Riga, F., Winterbottom, M., Harris, E., & Newby, L. (2017). Inquiry-based science education. In K. S. Taber & B. Akpan (Eds.), Science education: An international course companion (pp. 247–261). Springer.
Shayer, M., & Adey, P. (1981). Towards a science of science teaching: Cognitive development and curriculum demand. Oxford: Heinemann Educational Books.
Taber, K. S. (2010). Straw men and false dichotomies: Overcoming philosophical confusion in chemical education. Journal of Chemical Education, 87(5), 552–558.
Taber, K. S. (2011). The natures of scientific thinking: Creativity as the handmaiden to logic in the development of public and personal knowledge. In M. S. Khine (Ed.), Advances in the nature of science research—Concepts and methodologies (pp. 51–74). Dordrecht: Springer.
Taber, K. S. (2013). Modelling learners and learning in science education: Developing representations of concepts, conceptual structure and conceptual change to inform teaching and research. Dordrecht: Springer.
Taber, K. S. (2015). Affect and meeting the needs of the gifted chemistry learner: Providing intellectual challenge to engage students in enjoyable learning. In M. Kahveci & M. Orgill (Eds.), Affective dimensions in chemistry education (pp. 133–158). Berlin Heidelberg: Springer.
Taber, K. S. (2017). Reflecting the nature of science in science education. In K. S. Taber & B. Akpan (Eds.), Science education: An international course companion (pp. 23–37). Rotterdam: Sense Publishers.
Taber, K. S., Billingsley, B., Riga, F., & Newdick, H. (2015). English secondary students’ thinking about the status of scientific theories: Consistent, comprehensive, coherent and extensively evidenced explanations of aspects of the natural world—or just ‘an idea someone has’. The Curriculum Journal, 26(3), 370–403. https://doi.org/10.1080/09585176.2015.1043926.
Wellman, H. M. (2011). Developing a theory of mind. In U. Goswami (Ed.), The Wiley-Blackwell handbook of childhood cognitive development (2nd ed., pp. 258–284). Chichester, West Sussex: Wiley-Blackwell.
Zeidler, D. L. (2014). Socioscientific issues as a curriculum emphasis: Theory, research, and practice. In N. G. Lederman & S. K. Abell (Eds.), Handbook of research on science education (Vol. 2, pp. 697–726). New York: Routledge.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Further Reading
Further Reading
Perry, W. G. (1970). Forms of intellectual and ethical development in the college years: A scheme. New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston.
Taber, K. S. (2017). Beliefs and science education. In K. S. Taber & B. Akpan (Eds.), Science education: An international course companion (pp. 53–67). Rotterdam: Sense Publishers.
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2020 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Taber, K.S. (2020). Developing Intellectual Sophistication and Scientific Thinking—The Schemes of William G. Perry and Deanna Kuhn. In: Akpan, B., Kennedy, T.J. (eds) Science Education in Theory and Practice. Springer Texts in Education. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-43620-9_15
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-43620-9_15
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-43619-3
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-43620-9
eBook Packages: EducationEducation (R0)