Food purchasing

Second, the persons involved in the training of nutritionists should therefore become familiar with the characteristics of concrete and formal reasoning strategies so as to be able to identify instances of their use in students' performance and to understand the underlying nature of some of the difficulties they have in certain tasks expected of them. Third, in light of the importance of formal reasoning for understanding abstract nutrition concepts, for analyzing and evaluating complex issues, and for carrying out a number of tasks that will be potentially expected of students as nutrition professionals, encouraging its development should be an educational objective of utmost importance in their training. Fourth, the teaching strategies used must be those which will assist students in developing the skills inherent in formal thought. In such strategies, the following elements appear crucial: • The instructor or curriculum planner should make the development of reasoning one of the course or program goals. If it is not planned for, it is less likely to occur than when it is planned for. • The tasks required of students should take into account the level of their existing reasoning skills but should also challenge them to reach beyond. • The teaching process should provide students with opportunities to intereact actively with the material so that they can make their own observations, use their own logical skills to generate and test hypotheses, and conceptualize. It must also provide students with the opportunity to share, discuss, and argue with each other and with their teachers because out of this kind of social interaction can come the conflict, debate, and sharing of data and ideas which require that students carefully examine their own understandings and beliefs. In that way, their mental structures can be challenged to develop. The teacher's role is to provide leadership, guidance, and support during this process. Using such procedures, the results of this study are encouraging. Further research with both consumers and nutrition students would be valuable. D References 1 2

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McNutt, K. W., Public understanding of nutrition-Implications for nutrition education, Contemporary Nutr., 2: 3, March, 1977. National Assessment of Educational Progress, Consumer Math, Selected Results from the First National Assessment of Mathematics, Mathematics Report no. 04-MA-02, Government Printing Office, Washington, DC, 1975. Jacoby, J., R. W. Chestnut, and W. Silberman, Consumer use and comprehension of nutrition information, J. Consumer Inform., 4: 119, 1977. Niemark, E., Intellectual development during adolescence, Rev. Child Develop. Res., 4: 541, 1975. Chiapetta, E. L., A review of Piagetian studies relevant to science instruction at the secondary and college level, Sci. Ed., 60: 253, 1976. Renner, J. W., and A. E. Lawson, Promoting intellectual development through science teaching, Physics Teach., 11: 273, 1973. Inhelder, B., and J. Piaget, The Growth of Logical Thinking from Childhood to Adolescence, Basic Books, New York, 1958. Piaget, J., Intellectual evolution from adolescence to adulthood, Human Develop., 15: 1, 1972. Piaget, J., Development and learning, J. Res. Sci. Teach., 2: 176, 1964.

FOOD PURCHASING Senior Citizens: Food expenditure patterns and assistance, Agricultural Economic Report No. 426, 1979. From USDA, Economics, Statistics, and Cooperatives Service, Washington, DC 20250, 11 pp., single copy free. Comprising 200/0 of all U.S. households, persons 65 years of age and older spent 13 % of all food dollars in 1972-73. Households headed by seniors spent more per capita on food prepared 188

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Tanner, J. M., and B. Inhelder, Eds., Discussions on Child Development, vol. 4, Tavistock, London, 1960. Lawson, A. E., and W. T. Wollman, Cognitive level, cognitive style, and value judgment, Sci. Ed., 61:397, 1977. Lawson, A. E., F. H. Nordland, and A. DeVito, Relationship of formal reasoning to achievement, aptitudes and attitudes in preservice teachers, J. Res. Sci. Teach., 12:423, 1975. Lawson, A. E., and J. W. Renner, Relationship of science subject matter and the developmental level of the learner, J. Res. Sci. Teach., 12:347, 1975. Cantu, L L., and J. D. Herron, Concrete and formal stages and science concept attainment, J. Res. Sci. Teach., 15:135, 1978. Kohlberg, L., and C. Gilligan, The adolescent as a philosopher: The discovery of self in a post-conventional world, Daedalus, 100:1051, 1971. Levine, D. L., and M. C. Linn, ScientifiC reasoning ability in adolescence: Theoretical viewpoints and educational implications, J. Res. Sci. Teach., 14:371, 1977. Linn, M. c., NIE-SRCD Conference on future research in adolescent reasoning; Final report, Society for Research in Child Development, Berkeley, CA, 1978. Dewey, J., How We Think: A restatement of the relation of reflective thinking to the educative process, Regnery, Chicago, 1977. Ennis, R. H., A concept of "critical thinking," Harvard Ed. Rev., 32:81, 1962. Lovell, L., A follow-up study of Inhelder's and Piaget's The Growth of Logical Thinking, Brit. J. Psych., 52(2): 149, 1961. Dulit, D., Adolescent thinking a la Piaget: The formal stage, J. Youth and Adoles., 1:281, 1972. Karplus, R., and E. Karplus, Intellectual development beyond elementary school, 1: Deductive logic, School Sci. Math., 70:398, 1970. Tomlinson-Keassey, C., Formal operations in females from eleven to fifty-four years of age, Dev. Psych., 6(2):364, 1972. Kolodiiy, G., The cognitive development of high school and college science students, J. Coll. Sci. Teach., 5:20, 1975. Renner, J. W., and W. C. Paske, Quantitative competencies of college students, J. ColI. Sci. Teach., 6:283, 1977. Karplus, R. et aI., Science Teaching and the Development of Reasoning, Workshop materials, Advancement of Education in Science-Oriented Programs, Lawrence Hall of Science, University of California, Berkeley, 1976. Sills, T. W., Development and evaluative study of a written Piagetian pencil and paper test of formal operations, Ph.D. dissertation, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, 1977. Lawson, A. E., and A. J. D. Blake, Concrete and formal thinking abilities as measured by three separate instruments, J. Res. Sci. Teach., 13:227, 1976. Longeot, F., Un essai d'application de la psychologie genetique a la psychologie differentielle, Bulletin de l'institute National D'Etude, 18:153, 1962. Longeot, F., Analyse statistique de trois tests genetiques collectifs, Bulletin de l'institute National D'Etude, 20:219, 1965. Sheehan, D. J., The effectiveness of concrete and formal instructional procedures with concrete and formal-operational students, Ph.D. dissertation, State University of New York, Albany, 1970. Siegel, S., Non-Parametric Statistics, McGraw-Hill, New York, 1956. Wollman, W. T., and A. E. Lawson, The influence of instruction on proportional reasoning in seventh graders, J. Res. Sci. Teach., 15:227, 1978. Smith, P. J., Piaget in high school instruction, J. Chem. Ed., 55:115, 1978. Arons, A. B., Cultivating the capacity for formal reasoning: Objectives and procedures for an introductory physical science course, Am. J. Physics, 44:834, 1976. Multidisciplinary Piagetian-based Programs for College Freshmen: ADAPT, the cognitive program; DOORS; SOAR; STAR. Report from ADAPT, 213 Ferguson Hall, University of NebraskaLincoln, NE 68588.

at home and considerably less per capita on food purchased away from home than others. These dollars were allocated more to fresh fruits and vegetables, eggs, poultry, and grain products and less to red meats than those of other age groups. Since the percentage of income spent on food by seniors is highest of all age groups, special assistance programs such as Food Stamps, congregate meals, and Meals-on-Wheels are important. Some statistics on participation are included in this brief report.