A Case Study Analysis of the Development of Knowledge Schema, Ideational Networks, and Higher Cognitive Operations Among High School Students Who Studied Ecology

Thirteen randomly selected 9th‐ and 10th‐grade students who studied an ecology unit were interviewed, and the tape‐recorded narrative data were analyzed for changes in knowledge schema, represented by ideational networks and the development of higher cognitive operations. Flow maps and a checklist of cognitive information processing categories were used as analytical tools. Two end‐member respondents (lowest and highest performing students) were selected for an in‐depth analysis, and their performance was compared to the mean of the 13 randomly selected students. The high‐performing individual evidenced greater gains in use of higher order cognitive categories than the lowest end member, and both end members spanned the range of performance of respondents in the subsample. The data support current theory that the amount and quality of prior knowledge substantially influence gains in new knowledge and are closely linked to a capacity to apply higher order cognitive thought processes in constructing abstract knowledge.