• Afsheen Yousaf

  Author

• Tenzila Khan

  Author

Present study sets out to investigate into the cognitive developmental
stages of students of class VIII in Pakistan. Out of sixty students of section C of class
VIII, odd baring thirty students were systematically selected as subjects of study. Five
Piaget tasks i.e. conservation of mass, conservation of volume, conservation of
continuous quantity, conservation of number, conservation of volume displacement
and three inquiry activities i.e. control of variables, combinatorial reasoning and
proportional reasoning were brought into practice. Piaget tasks were used to measure
the concrete operational stage while the inquiry activities were administered in order
to determine the formal operational stage of class VIII students. These tasks and
activities were administered to the subjects one by one and students’ performance was
evaluated.
While evaluating students’ performance, the characteristics of concrete
operational stage were identified in most of the students. Almost 75% students
performed the Piagetian tasks correctly while only 25% students were unable to
perform certain tasks showing the presence of characteristics of concrete operational
stage in class VIII students. While administering the inquiry activities, it was observed
that through some of the characteristics of formal operational stage were present in
few students, yet most of the students were unable to solve these activities accurately.
Only 11% students solved these activities correctly while 89% students could not
perform them.
It was concluded that class VIII students were in concrete operational stage while
some features of formal operational stage like control of variables and proportional
reasoning were also demonstrated by a few students. But on the whole, class VIII
students were found in concrete operational stage.

• pdf