The construct of metacognition appears in an ever increasing number and range of contexts in educational, developmental, and cognitive psychology. Can it retain its status as a useful construct in the face of such diverse application? Or is it merely an umbrella term for diverse mental phenomena that are loosely if at all connected? Here I argue…

Information flows continuously in the environment. As we attempt to do something, our senses receive large volumes of information. In any conversation, messages are exchanged rapidly. To understand meaning, we have to focus, record, choose and process relevant information at every moment, before it is displaced by other information. Often,…

Significant research has been conducted into the positive effects of arts education on social and intellectual development of students across the ages of 10-15 years. Teacher competence for teaching the arts however does not appear to be as positive. A worldwide trend suggests pre-service teachers exhibit low confidence and content knowledge for…

Vygotsky's views on how language is instrumental in bringing about advanced forms of intellectual functioning offer a researchable framework from which to study this development. Developmentalists in psychology and linguistics have focused for too long on continuities rather than on the process of change in mental growth. The study of the…

A graduate of a course in history's great ideas and the processes of thinking about them encourages the development of similar courses, arguing that important aspects of intellectual development are being ignored in the current college curriculum. (MSE)

Sifts through confusing intelligence theories, arguing that intelligence is a combination of influences involving power, tactics, and content. Good thinking is an unnatural act demanding evenhanded reasoning, problem finding (versus solving), and knowledge as invention. Discusses thinking frames guiding thought processes and the implications for…

The knowledge era demands that students and faculty analyze and organize information, which requires intellectual skills rooted in critical thinking, problem solving, formal operations, creative, and more recent metacognitive and cognitive concepts. These skills seem to have operations in common, including description, selection, representation,…

Discusses problems that educators face in attempting to emphasize high-level cognitive skills in their curriculum. Identifies four elements of informal learning that guide the creation of these skills, through a comparison of the characteristics of formal and informal learning environments. Notes benefits for development of students' conceptual…

Describing key instructional elements in each of Gagne's five categories of learning objectives, this article outlines numerous teaching strategies drawing illustrations from the social studies area. Also outlined are 10 steps to achieve multiple objectives and reduce problems of matching objectives, learning modes, and teaching strategies. (SB)

A study investigated the functional relationship that exists when mental ability and language competence are separately and simultaneously measured with regard to their influence on the effective treatment of verbal information. Data were gathered from 100 men and women, aged 20-60, who were tested for language competence, reading comprehension,…

Current teacher education is criticized, and suggestions are made for improvement. It is pointed out that an essential factor is missing from teacher education curriculum. This factor is the systematic translation of what is now known about human learning into teacher and learner behavior in the classroom. While the results of abundant research in…

Recounts specific examples in the life of a three-year-old which illustrate how he began making connections between print and meaning and using what he learned from literature to expand his knowledge of the world. Notes literature is not only a powerful influence but also a very natural one. (NH)

Examines three approaches to fostering higher level thinking in students: (1) the stand-alone approach; (2) the embedding approach; and (3) the immersion approach. The first two approaches teach thinking skills separately from or in the context of subject matter content; the immersion approach assigns an active role to perception and downplays…

The ability of 248 older adults to improve their performance on fluid intelligence tests, with or without tutor-guided instruction in cognitive skills, was studied using multidimensional longitudinal structural equation models. Results suggest considerable plasticity in adult intellectual function and the capacity to improve performance. (SLD)

Research of cognitive scientists is resulting in new learning theories through which students can move from novice to expert. How cognitive scientists work and how their results are applied are discussed. Reciprocal teaching, as implemented in the Springfield (Illinois) schools, provides an example of a successful research-based technique. (SLD)