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Predicting science achievement: The role of developmental level, disembedding ability, mental capacity, prior knowledge, and beliefs
Author(s) -
Lawson Anton E.
Publication year - 1983
Publication title -
journal of research in science teaching
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.067
H-Index - 131
eISSN - 1098-2736
pISSN - 0022-4308
DOI - 10.1002/tea.3660200204
Subject(s) - psychology , cognition , cognitive psychology , science education , cognitive development , academic achievement , developmental psychology , social psychology , mathematics education , neuroscience
Controversy in the literature exists concerning the relative importance of cognitive characteristics such as general developmental level and specific prior knowledge for science achievement. Thus the relative ability of developmental level and prior knowledge to predict achievement of concepts of evolution and natural selection was assessed by means by three commonly used types of examination items: multiple choice items, a computational item, and an essay item. The effects of students' disembedding ability, mental capacity, and belief in evolution were also assessed. Disembedding ability, prior knowledge, and belief in evolution were found to be significantly related to overall achievement, while developmental level and mental capacity were not. However, developmental level was found to be the best predictor of performance on the computational item while belief in evolution and prior knowledge were found to be the best predictors of performance on the multiple‐choice items. Mental capacity was found to be a predictor of performance on the essay item. It is argued that the cognitive variables influence different aspects of science achievement. Implications are discussed.