How people see the world, even how they research it, is influenced by beliefs. Some beliefs are conscious and the result of research, or at least amenable to research. Others are largely invisible. They may feel like "common knowledge" (though myth, not knowledge), unrecognized premises that are part of the surrounding culture. As we…

The present study investigates the effects of multimedia and schema induced analogical reasoning on science learning. It involves 89 fourth grade elementary students in the north-east of the United States. Participants are randomly assigned into four conditions: (a) multimedia with analogy; (b) multimedia without analogy; (c) analogy without…

The field of education has largely ignored the concept of the dialectic, except in the Socratic teaching method, and even there bipolar meaning or reasoning has not been recognized. Mainstream educational psychology bases its assumptions about human reasoning and learning on current demonstrative concepts of information processing and levels of…

Investigated effects of teaching an explicit approach to problem solving on the mathematical chemistry achievement of preparatory college students (with a control group being taught dimensional analysis as its problem-solving strategy). No difference in cumulative achievement between the groups was found. Interpretations of the results obtained…

Presented is a strategy which uses creationism and other pseudosciences as examples of non-scientific approaches to critical thinking to teach students the nature of science and the scientific method. Examples of the illogic of non-scientific approaches are given along with an explanation of how they can be used in teaching critical thinking to…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of an eclectic thinking processes model on the logical reasoning abilities of students in grades six through twelve. The experimental school consisted of 159 students whereas the control school had 111 students. The Group Assessment of Logical Thinking (GALT) was administered to the sample as…

Teaching reading comprehension as a process rather than a product demands new instructional techniques. As the psycholinguistic model of reading suggests, readers use prior knowledge and linguistic competence to confirm, reject, or revise predictions on the text's meaning. Methods increasing readers' consciousness of their role in the…

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of a preservice science methods course emphasizing the mastery of selected science process skills on the level of development of logical thinking of students majoring in elementary school education. The problem was investigated for one semester with experimental subjects in their junior year,…

An attempt is made to synthesize the diverse perspectives on the teaching of thinking, especially in the area of social studies. A conception is developed that incorporates major theoretical orientations as well as the views of teachers. The conception emphasizes interpretation, analysis, and manipulation of information to solve problems that…

Three research efforts that used computer-based simulations for maintenance training were in progress when this report was written: Game-Based Learning, which investigated the use of computer-based games to train electronics diagnostic skills; Human Performance in Fault Diagnosis Tasks, which evaluated the use of context-free tasks to train…

Examines various types of problems that researchers have used to demonstrate problem solving. Focuses on genetics problems. Discusses classes of learning outcomes, conceptual knowledge gains, content-independent heuristics, content-specific procedures, understanding the nature of science and a typology of genetics problems. (CW)

Describes a teaching activity that improves students' scientific reasoning by focusing attention on the causal, explanatory nature of psychological theories. Students learn and use an argument form called Inference to the Best Explanation (IBE). Includes examples of this technique and student responses to the course. (MJP)

Maintains that educational reform is related directly to issues of creativity and critical thinking. Contends that the creative dimension of thinking is fostered best by joining it with the critical dimension. Includes a figure and eight basic conditions implicit in creative, critical acts of the mind. (CFR)

This 10-day study compared the effects of alternative ways of using microcomputer simulations on the achievement and attitudes of sixth- and seventh-grade science students (N=173). Nine classes were randomly assigned to one of four treatments: (1) microcomputer simulations; (2) laboratory activities; (3) a combination of simulation and laboratory…

This study investigated the degree to which 48 seventh and eighth grade students of different abilities acquired strategic planning knowledge from an intellectual computer game ("Wumpus"). Relationships between ability and student performance with two versions of the game were also investigated. The two versions differed in the structure…