Construction and Evaluation of a Powerful LOGO Learning Environment for the Acquisition and Transfer of Thinking Skills.
Erik De Corte · 1990
The development of a powerful learning environment aiming at the acquisition and transfer of general thinking skills through learning to program in LOGO was studied. The following conditions were sought: (1) sufficient knowledge of the LOGO primitives and concepts; (2) mastery of the thinking skills within the programming context; and (3) explicit training for transfer. A systematic experiment was conducted in 3 6th-grade classes with 72 12-year-old students, using a pretest-posttest design with a non-treatment control group. A LOGO course, involving the training of a systematic programming strategy. was taught to two of the classes. In one of these classes, explicit instruction for transfer was also applied. At the end of the school year, the fulfillment of the conditions was tested. Findings reveal that the first two transfer conditions were fulfilled in both experimental groups; results with respect to explicit training for transfer were less positive. A series of transfer tests was administered, and data analysis revealed that transfer was obtained in both experimental groups. This finding implies that fulfillment of the first two conditions is sufficient for realizing transfer of thinking skills. Three tables present study data, and 13 figuren illustrate items from the tests. (Author/SLD) A********************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document ********************************************************************** A U S DEPARTMENT or EDUCATION t 111 n Alit INA! t INi I IHNA II( /N t NT! ti it {711.1 I et, rt.. 1..4151 ,(141, Ia..' PFf1M1;SION 10 ill11100UCE THIS MA !TRIAL HAN BFEN 0HANIE'D 36. Ont, Ulf F Htll'AllUNAl lit ;;OURCL:', INFORMATION GEN TER ILIAC) CONSTR' 'CTION AND EVALUATION OF A POWERFUL LOGO LEARNING ENVIRONMENT FOR THE ACQUISITION AND TRANSFER OF