Intended for teachers, this booklet shows how spoken language can affect student thinking and presents strategies for teaching critical thinking skills. The first section discusses the theoretical and research bases for promoting critical thinking through speech, defines critical thinking, explores critical thinking as abstract thinking, and tells…

Schemata, as defined recently by reading researchers, represent generic concepts which are stored in memory. They include underlying objects, situations, events, actions, and sequences of actions for use in interpreting new experiences. Research on schemata suggests that teachers need to pay attention to the types of questions they ask when…

Among the 12 documents selected for this annotated bibliography of documents and journal articles in the ERIC database is an expert's argument that the brain's multipath and multimodal capacities are ignored by educators. Another writer fears that the "back-to-basics" movement may have eclipsed the prominence earlier accorded to thinking…

In this brief review of current literature on developing critical thinking skills in prospective teachers, the focus is on how critical thinking can be taught and how emphasis on critical thinking will affect teacher education. Some programs are cited that promote critical thinking and references are included. (JD)

Intended for college instructors interested in promoting and developing intellectual abilities in their students, this publication details the Perry and Toulmin models of cognitive development. The first section explains the Perry model of dualistic students, who are comfortable in a framework of absolute knowledge and unquestionable right and…

This ERIC digest examines recent research about the use of manipulatives to teach mathematics. "Manipulatives" refers to objects that can be touched and moved by students to introduce or reinforce a mathematical concept. The digest also speculates on some of the challenges affecting future use of manipulatives. Since the 19th century,…

This pamphlet reviews five reports that highlight an emerging consensus among researchers about the value of systematically incorporating cognitive instruction into the elementary school curriculum. First is a comprehensive framework by Robert J. Marzano and C. L. Hutchins for an integrated approach to thinking skills that has been developed and…

The papers contained in this document were originally presented at the May 1978 conference on Modeling Mathematical Cognitive Development sponsored by the Models of Learning Mathematics Working Group of the Georgia Center for the Study of Learning and Teaching Mathematics. Most have been revised to reflect comments and suggestions made at the…

Reports that there are few documents in the ERIC database concerning using computers as writing tools for gifted students and that the thrust of computer education for the gifted is toward developing abstract thinking only. Argues that more research is needed on classrooms for the gifted writer. (RS)

This digest considers the role of personal computers in the education of gifted students. There is evidence that students are working "smarter," whether they are learning and using more information, understanding key concepts and relationships better, or developing higher level thinking skills. Research findings concerning the specific…

A review of Piaget's theory and research on children's cognitive development is presented, including a discussion of the psychological structures of intelligence, developmental constructivism, and the evolution of knowledge as a subject-object relation. Piaget's assessment techniques are summarized, including moral development, number…