At the root of problem solving, Tishman and Clapp assert, is a sense of agency. The impetus to engage with a problem starts with a sense that it's possible to reshape something by directing one's actions purposefully. The authors--who participated in a long-term project observing how the "maker movement" is being implemented in…

What if teachers not only made clear the learning expectations at the start of each unit, but also helped students see where they stand in relation to those expectations? Students would realize what specific skills and understandings they most needed to work on and would clearly see the need for differentiation in the class. Dobbertin describes…

Schools are frequently inundated with demands to implement new instructional interventions and teaching methods that are not yet backed up by a solid body of research. Fortunately, many of these innovations include elements of more established strategies for which evidence of positive effects does exist. Guskey describes the core elements of one…

Child psychologist Peg Dawson explains that some students who appear to be lazy simply lack the executive skills they need to stay organized and get their work done. She tells the story of Josh, a student with attention problems whose academic performance started plummeting in middle school. With the help of a coach, Josh learned to manage his…

New neuroscientific knowledge is redefining possibilities for K-12 education. There are five critical variables in the brain's learning process: neural history, context, acquisition, elaboration, and encoding. This article tracks one student's unique brain activity throughout her school day to illustrate these variables. (MLH)

According to recent research, when teachers focus on higher mental processes (problem solving, application of principles, analytical skills, and creativity) within a mastery learning format, students' thinking skills and knowledge levels improve. Baltimore County (Maryland) and East Islip (New York) School Districts have programs integrating…

Constructivist theory recognizes the student's value as thinker. Thinking ability hinges on the capacity to ask and consider important questions. Teachers need question-driven problem-solving strategies that are comprehensive, adaptable, discriminating, productive, and transferable. This article explains four types of situations and accompanying…

During the past five years, East Islip (New York) School District has developed an outcome-based curriculum and instructional format focusing on student mastery of thinking skills. Connecting mastery learning with thinking skills provides a framework allowing students to make their own connections between instructional fragments, classroom…

Describes Chicago magnet school's use of seminar discussion and classroom dialogue to nurture students' active engagement in the learning process. Draws on experience at a public magnet school in Chicago with a student population that is largely poor and minority. (Contains 10 references.) (PKP)

A program to improve student ability to perform intellectually demanding tasks might reasonably focus on four types of objectives: abilities, methods, knowledge, and attitudes. (Author/MLF)

Summarizes the work of "information processing" psychologists who study cognition and contends that intelligence consists of a set of developed thinking and learning skills that can, to some degree, be taught. Nine such skills are listed including problem identification and strategy selection. (Author/MLF)

Research in cognitive science is providing an increasingly detailed understanding of human cognition. Teachers can help students become conscious of their own reasoning processes and then learn to compare, contrast, interrelate, or coordinate various ways in which they think in order to refine their problem-solving methods. (Author/MLF)

Educators must understand two opposing traditions in education, the mimetic and the transformative. Whereas traditional lesson structuring stresses concept introduction, constructivism emphasizes exploration. To constructivists, teachers strike the delicate balance between teaching for fact and skill acquisition and teaching for independent and…

Conventional computer-assisted instruction (CAI) beyond third grade is failing with at-risk students who cannot consciously deploy thinking strategies or derive meaning from symbols. The HOTS (Higher Order Thinking Skills) program uses CAI as one element comprising learning scenarios; others are dramatic techniques, Socratic conversations, and…

Today's children enter classrooms with skills and expectations that challenge adults. Kids with superior keyboarding skills may resist penmanship lessons. Learning is a two-way process. Computer-literate kids should be encouraged to share skills with other students and teachers. Teachers should pass on acquired skills to students. (MLH)