The Development of Relational Reasoning in South Korean Students

• In Event: AERA Poster Session 9
  In Poster Session: Supporting Learning Through Fundamental Cognitive Processes

Abstract

In this cross-sectional study, the changing ability of fourth, sixth, eighth, and tenth graders to identify meaningful patterns in an informational array (i.e., relational reasoning) was investigated. This general cognitive ability was assessed by means of the Test of Relational Reasoning-Junior (TORRjr) measuring analogical, anomalous, antinomous, and antithetical reasoning, respectively. Students’ performance on the TORRjr was analyzed using non-parametric median-based analysis and IRT-DIF factor analysis. The results indicated an asymptotic development pattern in overall RR across the grades. Further, a qualitative shift in RR was observed between the sixth and eighth grade. It was also determined that several items on the TORRjr functioned differently across the grade levels.

Authors

• Soo Eun Chae, Gangneung-Wonju National Univerity

• Patricia A. Alexander, University of Maryland - College Park