لخّصلي

At the beginning, we would like to point out that the mental abilities listed here are in many cases, recognized as science process skills.In other words, one can say: Science process skills are "practices". We can, simply, answer by confirming the fact that we cannot acquire these mental abilities without passing through practices and processes closely relevant to these abilities. On the following pages we demonstrate some mental abilities involved in practicing logical thinking. First: Recalling: Recalling is that mental ability which enables someone to retrieve information. In other words, an individual is required to remember what he studied or received before. This simple mental ability is a prerequisite for acquiring more complicated mental abilities. We should distinguish between two kinds of recall: ? The first what we can call it "cheap recall" which aims at just communicating an idea to the learner or to a colleague in a way that helps him to retrieve it literally when asked.Second : Comparing: Comparing represents one form of dynamic recalling to ideas, affairs and phenomena as the individual here practices many mental processes such as identifying similarities and differences among these ideas, affairs and phenomena.The merge of enriched recall and comparing represents the starting point for constructing the ability to produce new ideas and information, and practicing activities related to information processing.The second is enriched (fruitful) recall through which the individual can move on to build other higher mental abilities.These mental processes represents the essence of comparing as a mental process.In other words, the information learned beforehand can work as a base for acquiring more complicated abilities.This means that we can make connection between enriched recall and comparing.Then, we could question about the relationship between science process skills and mental abilities mentioned here.This kind of recall is value limited.?

At the beginning, we would like to point out that the mental abilities listed here are in many cases, recognized as science process skills. Then, we could question about the relationship between science process skills and mental abilities mentioned here. In other words, one can say: Science process skills are "practices". We can, simply, answer by confirming the fact that we cannot acquire these mental abilities without passing through practices and processes closely relevant to these abilities. On the following pages we demonstrate some mental abilities involved in practicing logical thinking. First: Recalling: Recalling is that mental ability which enables someone to retrieve information. In other words, an individual is required to remember what he studied or received before. This simple mental ability is a prerequisite for acquiring more complicated mental abilities. We should distinguish between two kinds of recall:  The first what we can call it "cheap recall" which aims at just communicating an idea to the learner or to a colleague in a way that helps him to retrieve it literally when asked. This kind of recall is value limited.  The second is enriched (fruitful) recall through which the individual can move on to build other higher mental abilities. In other words, the information learned beforehand can work as a base for acquiring more complicated abilities. Second : Comparing: Comparing represents one form of dynamic recalling to ideas, affairs and phenomena as the individual here practices many mental processes such as identifying similarities and differences among these ideas, affairs and phenomena. These mental processes represents the essence of comparing as a mental process. This means that we can make connection between enriched recall and comparing. The merge of enriched recall and comparing represents the starting point for constructing the ability to produce new ideas and information, and practicing activities related to information processing. We can, then, say that comparing is the base for building what we call "productive thinking" . Through comparing we can identify similarities and differences among phenomena or affairs, describe the changes in biological and physical systems, and describe differences and variances among objects. Accordingly, the science teacher is asked to provide appropriate environment and situations to encourage students to practice comparing. Examples are : Observing chemical reactions, and the changes happening in the physical chemical and biological systems. Third: Inferring: Inferring, simply, is recognizing unknown characteristic (s) from known one (s), This means that inferring requires the provision of some information previously collected, in the light of which we identify a trend, style or character from the information given. Inferring in this context, means, introducing an explanation or interpretation about a phenomenon within a collection of phenomena. Example (1) : Tracing the path of steel balls: Some steel balls with diffent sizes, carbon paper and white papers are required. The carbon paper is placed on white paper then rolling one ball on the carbon paper. Then the carbon paper is picked up to trace the path of the ball. The same procedures are repeated using other balls with different sizes. The student is asked in each case to trace the path of the ball through the marks appearing on the white paper. Fourth: Generalizing: Generalization is an important level in the cognitive structure of science. It is a statement that describes a common characteristic (s) among a number of objects, phenomena or affairs. The teacher is asked to demonstrate these phenomena before his/her students and encourages them to find out the common characteristic (s) among themWhat does it mean? It means that helping students to develop their ability to generalize is one of our main duites as science teachers. Thus, we must provide for appropriate environment to achieve this goal (developing student's abilities to generalize). Moreover, we should train our students on the ways in which generalization could be expressed in the from of laws. For example, we can demonstrate a number of circular forms (such as frame of bicycle, steering wheel, cup, ring, barrel, etc.) and ask students to calculate the ratio between perimeter and radius in each case. They will find that the ratio is always a constant value. Such experience, when repeated, would iard to building student's abilities to generalize as a main ability for practicing logical thinking. Fifth: Deducing: Deducing is the mental ability through which the individuals reflect the direction of their thinking process. It is against inducting (in which the individual insights the common characteristic among a number of facts to reach a generalization). In deducing, the individual uses these generalizations, principles or laws when dealing with a specific situation. For example we deduce that dogs deliver from the generalization: all mammals delivers. As dogs are classified as mammals, then we deduce that they deliver. Sixth: Classifying: At the beginning, we should point out that scientists can never practice their scientific activities without possessing the ability to classify objects, phenomena and affairs in categories on the basis of common characteristic (s) which connect them which each other. So, it is of great value to train students on how to classify objects and phenomena as the ability to classify is inevitable to practice logical thinking. Science teachers are, then, asked to provide students with appropriate environment and situations which contribute in developing their ability to classify. Seventh: Analyzing: Analyzing is, simply separating the components of an object from each other with the purpose of scrutinizing them. Thus, we analyze matters and compounds for identifying the basic elements of which they consist, and the ratio of each element comparing with other elements. Also, we analyze the spectrum to recognize the components of sun light. Science teachers are asked to provide their students with appropriate situations to encourage them practicing the process of analyzing. Student's ability to analyzing is urgently needed for practicing logical thinking. Eighth: Imagining: Imagining is a mental activity that goes beyond senses. Comparing with other mental abilities mentioned above which are closely related to concrete experience, imagining is a higher mental ability without which science would have never achieved this great level of advancement. Without practicing imagining (visualizing) science theories and explanations of different phenomena would have never been developed. When dealing with scientific phenomena we always ask the questions: Why these phenomena behave in this or another way? To answer this question we have to imagine and visualize. When metal are heated they expand. Then we ask: what has gone inside them and has made them expand? The answer cones through our imagination which is based on evidence and concrete experience. Imagining, them, is inevitable for constructing theories and explanations. It is a creative practice without which students would never understand the behaviors of natural phenomena. Thus, teacher's should be concerned with developing this mental ability through providing relevant situations that encourage students to imagine and visualize.