In the "Republic," Plato developed an educational program through which he trained young Athenians in desiring truth, without offering them any knowledge-education. This is not because he refused to pass on knowledge but because he considered knowledge of the Good as an ongoing research program. I show this by tracing the steps of the…

This paper discusses creative and critical thinking across wide cultural and historical frameworks. It begins with an exploration of Socratic Dialectics in multiple contexts, highlighting the need for innovative views and investigative practices using Art and Culture. A major objective of this project is to use the Arts for finding the universal…

In this essay, the author explores what educationalists can learn from studying "The Paper Chase." The rise and decline of the Socratic method and the importance of the hidden curriculum are highlighted.

One way to fascinate, engage, arouse curiosity, motivate, and stimulate intellectual development in learning scientific concepts is to use counterintuitive questions. These questions make students aware of the inadequacies of their own thinking by exposing them to situations whose outcomes are inconsistent with what they would expect. In this…

Although students make some epistemological progress during college, most graduate without developing meaning-making strategies that reflect an understanding that knowledge is socially constructed. Using a pre-test-post-test design and a within-subjects 2 × 2 mixed-design ANOVA, this study reports on empirical findings which support the Socratic…

Describes research that tested the validity of a set of guidelines for a program for the systematic development of listening comprehension skills. (DD)

Discusses young children's dialogue and ways in which children learn when they talk with other children and with adults. Children's language is characterized by wondering; teachers can learn to be sensitive to this wondering and can learn the art of dialogue with young children. (RJC)

Argues that the Socratic method is inappropriate for children because it teaches them to question adult authority before they have the necessary experience and is therefore conducive to cynicism. A traditional liberal arts curriculum, combining transmission of culture with open inquiry, is preferable to attempts to teach critical thinking. (TE)

Explains the significance of stories in productive thinking by collecting and analyzing the reactions of 40 children of 3 and 4 years to 10 stories. Results indicate that stories can be used to understand preschool children's thinking and increase their productive thoughts. (BB)

Parents and teachers help children develop their intelligence by mediating their learning experiences. When children seek such mediation by asking questions, parents and teachers can use one of seven responses. The single most helpful response is to take children's questions seriously and turn them into golden thinking and learning opportunities.…

Determined if student questioning skills could be taught within framework of an ongoing chemistry course and if acquisition of these skills depends on high school students' (N=108) level of intellectual development. Results indicate that questioning skills can be acquired by students, regardless of their level of Piagetian intellectual…

Presents ideas to promote higher-level thinking in general chemistry classrooms/laboratories, focusing on applications of Patricia E. Blosser's taxonomy to enhance students' convergent/divergent/evaluative thinking. Compares Blosser's taxonomy with Bloom and Piagetian taxonomies, suggesting a combined Blosser/Piagetian taxonomy to achieve goals of…

Reviews research about child development, curiosity, questioning, boredom, and social class differences, and the relationships between attitudes and capacities of the learners and the content and complexities of the materials. (See TM 504 595 for availability). (Author/CTM)