The success of the materials can be attributed to activities that created cognitive
conflict, and employed a learning cycle approach that provided students with
a rule and opportunity to practise the application of that rule with feedback.
The results support Lawson's (1985) contention that students' reasoning ability
can be improved, particularly if a variety of thought-provoking activities is
provided and students are intellectually in control of their own actions. It is
anticipated that these preservice science teachers will benefit from the
intervention in several ways. First, the improved facility with formal reasoning
patterns will enhance their learning of abstract science concepts and science
process skills from the remaining science units in their teacher education
programme. Second, they will be more effective classroom teachers as they will
be able to model appropriate reasoning patterns for their students. Third, they
have been made aware of the types of activities that they might use to enhance
the scientific thinking of high school science students.