Developing multivariable thinkers

Scientific thinking skills figure centrally in new science curriculum standards. We identify as a broad and critical dimension of skilled scientific thinking one that has received little previous attention – the conceptualization of multiple factors jointly affecting an outcome. In a preliminary study, we established that even lay adults show less than optimal competency in this regard. In two intervention studies, we undertook to foster this competency in middle-school students. Although performance levels were initially low, students’ skills and understanding were amenable to development as outcomes of both a multi-year and a less extended intervention. We consider implications regarding what needs to develop in the development of scientific thinking and the mechanisms involved.