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HISTORICAL VERSUS CONTEMPORARY PROBLEM-SOLVING USE OF THE COLLEGE PHYSICAL SCIENCE LABORATORY PERIOD FOR GENERAL EDUCATION A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the University of Minnesota by James S. Perlman In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy June, 1952 ACKNOWLEDGMENT The writer feels strong personal gratitude to his adviser, Professor Palmer 0. Johnson. Devoted as Professor Johnson is to progress in science educational methods as well as to furtherance of latest designs and statistical techniques in educational research, his suggestions, counsel and Judgment were invaluable, his support stimulating, solid and constant throughout. To Deans Russell Cooper and J. W. Buchta, the writer is especially thankful for the opportunity to conduct this investiga tion. As Chairman of the General Studies Program, Dean Cooper was genuinely interested in the college general education research represented in this study. Although under heavy pressure of responsibilities at the time as Acting Dean of the College of Science, Literature and the Arts, Dean Buchta was particularly kind in conducting one of the five groups of the study during the first quarter, Mr. William Moonan assisted considerably and dependably in the statistical treatment of the data. Professor Cyril Hoyt had an ever-willing ear and valuable suggestions in problems of compiling a written test in scientific thinking. Acknowledgments are due to Stanford University Press, Stanford, California, to the Cooperative Test Service, New York City, and to the State Department of Education, Columbus, Ohio, for their cooperation in the use of items from the Stanford Scientific Aptitude Test of Dr. David Zyve, from the P. E. A. Interpretation of Data Test #2.51, 1939, used in the Eight Year Study, and from the Every Pupil Scientific Thinking Test, 1938, respectively. Without the general encouragement, cooperation and devotion of his wife, Beatrice B. Perlman, this study would hardly have been possible. James S. Perlman June, 1952 TABLE GF CONTENTS Page LIST OF TABLES ................. - .... -- .................. vi Chapter I. THE PROBLEM AND ITS LITERATURE . .... . .................. 1 Introduction •••••...••..... ....... .......... The Problem............................ Statement of the Problem • 2 Significance and Scope of This Stnxdy ..* ........... 3 Assumptions of This Investigation 3 5 General Limitations of This Study . .................. The Literature ....................... General Character of Previous Research on Laboratory Period Use ........... 5 The Issue of Lecture Demonstration vs# 7 Individual Laboratory .... Research in College Science for General Education •••••# 10 Scientific Problem-Solving as an Issuein Education •••• 12 ProblenHSolving Research • •••••.••••••••.... lU High School Studies on Automatic Acquisition of Scientific Approaches ••••••.••••••••• 16 High School Studies Involving Special Teaching ...... 19 for Scientific Thinking .... 26 Evaluative Summary of High School Studies College Level Investigation Relevant to our Problem-Solving Assumptions ...... 27 38 Summary................ II. THE EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN AND THE INSTRUMENTS OF EVALUATION •• UO Introduction: The Experimental Objective, the Population, the Course .... General Design of the Experiment ............. General Character of the Testing Instx-uments .......... The Pre-tests ...... Outside Criterion Tests ... ....... ............. Written Test on Scientific Thinking and Its Validity ••• Performance Test in Scientific Problem-Solving and Its V a l i d i t y ................. Reliability of the Tests • • ............. Sunmary.......... III. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURES............ Sampling Procedures....... ...... . Control of Non-Experimental Factors ............ General Differentiation of Me