A technique to teach cognitive skills to directly facilitate abstract and rational thinking is described. Based on George Kelly's theory of personal constructs, his Role Construct Repertory Test has students construe similarities and differences among important course concepts rather than provide individual definitions or examples of those…

Discusses the "Philosophy for Children" program developed by Matthew Lipman and Ann Margaret Sharp of the Institute for the Advancement of Philosophy for Children at Montclair State College in New Jersey. Explains how the teaching of philosophy can also be incorporated into the teacher education curriculum. (FL)

The ReQuest procedure, designed to teach students to raise questions independently, has many components that lend themselves to solving some of the problems faced by the teacher of juvenile delinquents. (HOD)

The pamphlet examines the kinds of play that are useful in developing the basis for later abstract thinking--specifically the development of mathematical concepts. The mathematical concepts included are numbers, conservation, one-to-one correspondence, counting and sequencing, ordering, sorting and classification, sorting and sets, and equivalence…

Features five activities to nurture "number sense," promote practice in mental calculations, and promote student self-confidence in mathmatical operations. These are "hands-off" exercises that are preparatory to calculator and computer use for math. (ET)

Recent research literature has highlighted the interest of both teachers and researchers in using analogies to aid students' conceptual understanding. This appears to be especially relevant in secondary chemistry education due to the many abstract concepts that are included in the curricula. This paper reviews recent literature and considers…

Attempts to show that not only can density be taught to lower ability pupils but that by doing so, there is the possibility of assisting pupils to develop their reasoning powers. Lists teaching activities that help in this process. (CW)

This book on propositional reasoning is part of a series designed to assist beginning and experienced teachers in becoming regular evaluators of their own instruction. The book consists of two parts. The first part provides information on probabilistic, disjunctive, combinatorial, implicational, deductive, and proportional reasoning and on…

Outlines an instructional approach for teaching moral thinking, based on considering consequences of alternative options. Discusses R. M. Hare's two-level theory of moral thinking, and cautions against relying solely on critical thinking for moral education. Suggests students must learn open-minded thinking, be aware of the consequences of their…

Describes three activities that the teacher can employ to help students develop thinking skills through mathematics instruction: (1) memorization using the technique of chunking; (2) higher order thinking with magic squares; and (3) predicting games. Identifies eight facets of the teacher's role in promoting thinking skills. (MDH)

The teaching of critical thinking is discussed, based on the view that methods of teaching critical thinking vary from discipline to discipline. After covering basic concepts related to teaching critical thinking, a framework to examine the process of critical thinking is presented, based on cognitive science and developmental theory, especially…

One of three related documents produced in response to a need for direct instruction in thinking skills at the secondary level, this teaching guide for Book One and Book Two of "Thinking Through Language" is intended for junior or senior high school English teachers. The guide contains an introduction and summaries of Book One and Book Two,…