This article emphasizes the need to encourage undergraduate students to develop arguments, which involves enhancing their analytical skills and capacity for critical thinking, across disciplines regardless of level. It argues that these skills, required by the Quality Assurance Agency's (QAA) benchmarks, are developed not by instruction, but by…

Lists nine strategies that help students move from being an "unreflective thinker" to a "master thinker," discussing in detail the last five strategies: reshaping character; dealing with egocentrism; redefining the way to see things; getting in touch with emotions; and analyzing group influences on life. (PGS)

Explores the central pragmatist and feminist philosophical assumption that knowers cannot be separated from what is known, that there is a dialectical relationship between social beings and ideas. Argues for embracing pluralistic and democratic commitments on epistemological and moral grounds. (KS)

Examines the problem-solving strategies of experts and novices. Summarizes the overall performance of four experts and eight novices. Examines several protocols in depth in order to show how subjects introduced new terms and relationships during problem solving sessions. Compares the strategies of expert and novice problem solvers. (CW)

Teaching creative thinking can be accomplished by activities in which the teacher asks questions of the students which require divergent thinking. The activities in this article do not require equipment, supplies or manipulatives. They consist of questions, possible student answers, and suggestions for follow-up. (CW)

Sex differences on Perry's stages of epistemological development were investigated in a study of 100 freshmen (50 men and 50 women) at a large midwestern university. A semi-structured interview probed six domains related to Perry's theory, including the role of the learner, instructor, and peers in the learning situation, the question of…

Reviews a monograph which addresses children's higher-order thinking skills. Suggests the following for teaching problem solving: identify and develop content-independent and content-dependent problem-solving skills, connect developed skills through workshop-style activities to subject discipline, and help students identify and reconstruct their…

Discusses recent research in cognitive psychology that identifies how students are likely to respond when controversial issues are included in course content. Points out that controversial material may lead to misunderstandings and forgetting. Provides teaching ideas to enhance student learning and remembering, to deal with emotions, and to foster…

Summarizes interviews with British West Indies children concerning the production of art and the role of the artist. Demonstrates that children's perceptions undergo a shift from naive realism (pretty things make pretty pictures) to a more interpretive stance (the artist's efforts define the final product). (MJP)