If students are explicitly taught about their brain's capacity to change, their motivation to learn can greatly increase. Marcus Conyers and Donna Wilson, author of "Developing Growth Mindsets," share examples from elementary to high school classrooms where students who are taught about brain plasticity show a greater potential for…

New brain imaging methods are helping us better understand how children learn, writes neuroscientist John Gabrieli. But "education neuroscience" has become the source of both promise and debate.

Most students in most schools today study subject matter. They and their teachers conceive of the educational task as committing to memory large numbers of facts, formulas, and figures. A far more sophisticated perspective emphasizes teaching disciplines and disciplinary thinking. The goal of this approach is to instill in students the disposition…

Herman Epstein's theory correlating children's learning capacity with periodic spurts and plateaus in brain growth is predicated on inadequate data and questionable interpretations thereof, and it is discredited by highly respected scholars, including those he cites. Applying this theory to classroom practice is therefore irresponsible and…

Critical thinking is the sort of mental activity that uses facts to plan, order, and work toward an end; seeks meaning or an explanation; is self-reflective; and uses reason to question claims and make judgments. Any subject--be it physics, algebra, or auto repair--can promote critical thinking as long as teachers teach the subject matter in…

A number of studies conducted during the last decade have found that students' achievement increases when teaching methods match their learning styles--biological and developmental characteristics that affect how they learn. Correlational studies and experimental research studies are reviewed on instructional environments, perceptual preferences,…

Fred Wood and Steven Thompson claim that inservice educational practices should be changed because, first, more adults are operating at a lower stage of cognitive development than previously believed, and, second, adults prefer learning in informal social situations. This article challenges the adequacy of the research analysis underlying these…

Defends the claims made in an earlier publication by the authors that inservice programs should be more experiential because the cognitive development of adults is less uniformly advanced than previously supposed and because experiential learning is more effective. Cites additional supportive research. (PGD)

Current research correlating brain growth and changes in electroencephalograph patterns with Piagetian periods of development does not warrant conclusions about educational planning, for cognitive development studies show no correlation between spurts and plateaus in brain growth and children's ability to learn new skills. (TE)

Programs to teach students critical thinking must empower them to be self-directed, but they must also stress respect and empathy for the viewpoints of others. (Author/TE)

Thinking tools bring sound instructional theory into the classroom in a practical form that students and teachers both enjoy using. Six such tools are described that have the general characteristics of psychological validity, concreteness, relevance to teachers, and differentiation by type of learning. (TE)

Suggests basic principles to guide the construction of an integrated sequential guide for thinking skills instruction throughout the K-12 curriculum. Strategies emphasize introducing and reinforcing cognitive operations such as information processing, problem solving, critical thinking, and decision making. (TE)

Describes the use of Edward de Bono's CoRT (Cognitive Research Trust) program in English classes during the past five years at Memorial Junior High School in Valley Stream, New York. CoRT tools were used to analyze literary characters and plot development and to generate and organize ideas for writing assignments. (TE)

With Matthew Lipman's Philosophy for Children program, middle school students and their teachers in the Bethlehem (Pennsylvania) Area School District use dialectical reasoning strategies as they contemplate perennial questions. (Author/TE)

At Westover (Connecticut) Elementary Magnet School, a teacher training program called "Talents Unlimited" focuses on critical and creative thinking, invites children to become active learners, and enables teachers to function as facilitators of learning. (TE)