In 2011, pepnet 2 launched the Deaf Learner Initiative (DLI). The goals of this initiative were to examine the existing paradigms, programs, pedagogy and relevant research related to the educational and vocational needs of deaf learners. The DLI was comprised of a variety of activities including the Deaf Learner Symposium, the creation of three…

Presents a rail gun demonstration that addresses a broad group of educational goals in introductory electricity and magnetism. Uses a battery-powered circuit consisting of a movable conductor placed across two conducting rails in a magnetic field to review mechanics, foster approximate reasoning and lateral class discussion, and demonstrate the…

Presents a model for teaching reasoning using technology in the contexts of algebra and geometry. (MKR)

During the brief time students come together for a group tour, museum educators have the opportunity to create a culture of thinking: a place where the group's collective as well as individual thinking is valued, made visible, and actively promoted as part of the ongoing experience of all group members. Creating such a culture is facilitated by…

This book discusses the act of understanding in mathematics. The first chapter, "Understanding and Meaning," inquires into the various senses and uses of the word "understanding" in ordinary language and discusses the notion of meaning and relations between understanding and meaning. The second chapter, "Components and…

This paper describes how secondary teachers can use the Purdue Three-Stage Model as a framework for instruction that facilitates talent development in both heterogenous and homogenous classrooms. In the first two stages, students master the core content of a discipline and practice thinking creatively and critically about the content. In the third…

All contemporary learning theorists agree on the advantages of involving students in authentic problem-solving activities in both in-school and out-of-school contexts. Approaches which use real-world problems as learning tools fit well with: (1) the strategy-based, performance model advanced by information processors; (2) the impasse or…

This Digest discusses approaches to group learning in the language classroom, presenting some principles that are common to any group learning approach, whether it be cooperative learning, student team learning, group investigation, or collaborative learning. The Digest also discusses the Collaborative Learning Model (Reid et al., 1989) which…

It is possible to empower learners by encouraging them to make judgments and decisions about the world and then providing them with feedback on resultant conceptualizations. Teachers can help build a basis for thinking about an interdependent world by highlighting the international dimensions of topics typically studied. When students use critical…

Investigated is the ability of high school pupils and university students to answer questions based on relationships within food webs using sound ecological principles. Research methods used and the results of this study are discussed. (CW)

Presents a model that relates Polya's ideas on problem solving to teaching practices that help create a mathematics learning environment in which students are actively involved in doing mathematics. Illustrates the model utilizing a high school geometry problem that asks students to measure the width of a river. (MDH)

Two programs are described for teaching earth science and introductory chemistry to secondary students with learning disabilities. Development of the two models involved curriculum revision to engage students in higher order thinking, teaching fewer topics in more depth, and design of materials to provide an integrated, problem-solving basis for…

The brain works by making patterns, and this process can be visualized through a medium called visual tools. The book discusses three types of visual tools: brainstorming webs, task-specific organizers, and thinking-process maps. Sample lessons, assessments, and descriptions of visual tools in action are included. Emphasis is placed on the…

This monograph presents commentaries on the book "Dimensions of Thinking: A Framework for Curriculum and Instruction" (which organizes research and theory from several sources into a framework for teaching thinking), by four of its seven authors. The four articles are as follows: "The Development of 'Dimensions of Thinking'"…

A triarchic model for identifying, teaching, and assessing children who are gifted is presented. The model involves three abilities: memory-analytic, creative-synthetic, and practical-contextual. Results are presented of the Yale Summer Psychology pilot project that is based on this model. Expanding the model to other fields beyond psychology is…