Biomedical subjects

Li-Fang Zhang

Publications and source records attributed to Li-Fang Zhang.

9 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2004

Contributions of thinking styles to vocational purpose beyond self-rated abilities.

The present study predicted vocational purpose from thinking styles, a construct at the interface of intelligence and personality. 233 students majoring in history and computer science from a large research-oriented university in the People's Republic of China completed the Thinking Styles Inventory and the Iowa Vocational Purpose Inventory. The participants also rated their own analytical, creative, and practical abilities. In general, results indicated that thinking styles contributed to vocational purpose beyond self-rated abilities. Specifically, the more creativity-generating and complex thinking styles tended to contribute positively to vocational purpose, whereas the more conforming and simplistic thinking styles tended to contribute negatively to vocational purpose. This article points to the need theoretically for integrating the construct of thinking style into the definition of differential psychology. Practical data argue for a collaborative working relationship between teachers and vocational counselors in institutions of higher education.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2004

Thinking styles: university students' preferred teaching styles and their conceptions of effective teachers.

In the present study, the author investigated the role of thinking styles in university students' preferences for teaching styles and their conceptions of effective teachers. Students (121 men and 134 women) from the University of Hong Kong responded to 3 self-report tests: the Thinking Styles Inventory-Revised (R. J. Sternberg, R. K. Wagner, & L-F. Zhang, 2003), the Preferred Thinking Styles in Teaching Inventory (L-F. Zhang, 2003c), and the Effective Teacher Inventory (L-F. Zhang, 2003b). Results indicated that even after age, gender, and academic discipline were controlled, particular thinking styles predisposed students to particular teaching styles. Moreover, as expected, students were open to more than just teaching styles that precisely matched their own thinking styles. Results also indicated that students' thinking styles made a difference in their conceptions of effective teachers. Discussions are focused on the study's contributions to both the style literature and the growing body of knowledge on characteristics of effective teachers.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2004

Revisiting the predictive power of thinking styles for academic performance.

The present study is a further examination of the contributions of thinking styles to academic achievement (see L-F. Zhang, 2001a, 2001b, 2002f; L-F. Zhang & R. J. Sternberg, 1998). Secondary school students in Hong Kong (N = 250; 131 from a Catholic boys' school and 119 from a Protestant girls' school) participated in the study. Students' scores on the Thinking Styles Inventory (R. J. Sternberg & R. K. Wagner, 1992) were used to predict their academic achievement in 16 subjects after age, gender, school class level, and performance on the Sternberg Triarchic Abilities Test (R. J. Sternberg, 1993) were controlled. Results indicated that the use of the hierarchical thinking style significantly contributed to better achievement in the social sciences and humanities and that the use of the judicial style uniquely contributed to better achievement in the natural sciences. The use of the monarchic thinking style significantly predicted students' achievement in design and technology. The results of this study suggest that thinking styles should be taken into account in school settings and that thinking styles that generate creativity should be cultivated in students.

Achievement↗

PubMed2003

Contributions of thinking styles to critical thinking dispositions.

The main purpose of the author's research was to investigate whether thinking styles significantly contribute to critical thinking dispositions. Two samples of Chinese university students, one from Beijing and the other from Nanjing, participated in the study. The participants responded to the Thinking Styles Inventory (R. J. Sternberg & R. K. Wagner, 1992) based on Sternberg's theory of mental self-government and to the California Critical Thinking Disposition Inventory (P. Facione & N. Facione, 1992), which assessed the 7 dimensions of the critical thinking construct as defined in The Delphi Report (see P. Facione, N. Facione, & C. Giancarlo, 2001). Results from both samples supported the prediction that thinking styles statistically contribute to individual differences in critical thinking dispositions. These findings have implications not only for classroom instruction and assessment but also for academic and nonacademic program development.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2003

Are parents' and children's thinking styles related?

This study extends the investigation of the validity of Sternberg's theory of mental self-government to mainland Chinese secondary school students and their parents. The assumption of a 'socialization effect' underlying the theory was subjected to broader investigation. 232 students and their parents responded to a range of demographic questions and to the Thinking Styles Inventory which is based on Sternberg's theory. The two major findings are that (1) Sternberg's theory is valid with both samples, and (2) students' thinking styles are related not only to their personal factors, e.g., sex, grade, and self-rated abilities, but also to their parents' thinking styles. These findings have implications for school teachers and counselors as well as for parents.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2002

Thinking styles and academic achievement among Filipino students.

The authors' objective in this study was to determine whether the precepts of R. J. Sternberg's (1988, 1997) theory of mental self-government apply to a non-Western culture. They administered R. J. Sternberg and R. K. Wagner's (1992) Thinking Styles Inventory, which is based on the theory of mental self-government, to 429 Filipino university students. The results of item analysis, scale intercorrelations, and factor analysis were consistent with the general provisions of the theory. Correlational analysis between thinking styles and grade point average showed that thinking styles are related to acade micachievement. The results are explained with respect to the concepts and practices of Philippine culture and schools and discussed in relation to the developmental assumptions of the theory of mental self-government.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2002

Thinking styles and cognitive development.

Using R. J. Sternberg's (1988, 1997) theory of thinking styles and W. G. Perry's (1970) theory of cognitive development, the author investigated the nature of thinking styles as they relate to cognitive development. Eighty-two Hong Kong university students (44 male, 38 female) responded to the Thinking Styles Inventory (R. J. Sternberg & R. K. Wagner, 1992) and the Zhang Cognitive Development Inventory (L. F. Zhang, 1997). Statistical analyses provided varying degrees of support for the prediction of an overlap between the thinking style and cognitive development constructs. In general, students who reasoned at a higher cognitive developmental level tended to use a wider range of thinking styles than students who reasoned at a lower cognitive developmental level. Implications of results are discussed in relation to education and research.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2002

Thinking styles and modes of thinking: implications for education and research.

The author investigated the relationship of thinking styles to modes of thinking. Participants were 371 freshmen (aged 18 and 19) from the University of Hong Kong. Participants responded to the Thinking Styles Inventory (R. J. Sternnberg & R. K. Wagner, 1992) and the Style of Learning and Thinking (Youth Form; E. P. Torrance, B. McCarthy, & M. T. Kolesinski, 1988). A major finding was that creativity generating and complex thinking styles were significantly positively correlated with the holistic mode of thinking but significantly negatively correlated with the analytic mode of thinking. Thinking styles that denote the tendency to norm favoring and simplistic information processing were significantly positively correlated with the analytic mode of thinking and significantly negatively correlated with the holistic mode of thinking. In a preliminary conclusion, it appears that the thinking style construct overlaps the mode of thinking construct. Implications of this finding for teachers and researchers are delineated.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Comparison of K-ras gene mutations in tumour and sputum DNA of patients with lung cancer.

Mutations in the K-ras gene are frequently found in lung tumours and are implicated in the development of lung cancer. In order to investigate the clinical usefulness of these mutations in lung cancer, we applied a sensitive method to compare mutations in codon 12 of the K-ras gene in DNA extracted from lung tumours and the matched sputum samples obtained from 22 lung cancer patients. K-ras mutations were identified in the lung tumours of 12 patients (54.5%) and in the sputum samples of 10 patients (45.5%). Nine patients showed an identical mutation in both the tumour and the matched sputum samples. There was a significant association between the presence of a K-ras mutation in a lung tumour and the detection of an identical mutation in the matched sputum sample of the lung cancer patient (kappa = 0.64, 95% confidence interval 0.32-0.95, p <0.01). K-ras mutations were detected in sputum samples from cancer patients with all lung tumour grades, and both in the presence and the absence of lymph node metastasis. Therefore, K-ras mutations may provide useful diagnostic markers for lung cancer.

Adenocarcinoma↗