The value of higher education, and particularly the four-year undergraduate venture influenced from the liberal arts tradition, is largely framed around the impact it has on a broad range of skills and dispositions that serve to enhance human flourishing. Employers and society more broadly can benefit from individuals who are committed to careful…

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…

Education rests on the foundation of culture in the broadest sense of that word. How deeply and solidly that foundation has been laid down determines the size and solidity of the building that can be constructed on it. This applies in particular to higher education, which is by no means designed solely to offer just a body of specialized…

Argues that the best way to cultivate children's reasoning is to make philosophy an essential part of the elementary school curriculum. Philosophy alone provides the logical criteria for distinguishing better thinking from poorer. The author's "Philosophy for Children" program is described. (TE)

Responding to Goldman's critique of the Socratic method, the author redefines the "Socratic spirit" as rational dialog focused on questions of significance in an atmosphere of mutual support and cooperation. Exemplified in Lipman's "Philosophy for Children," this approach nourishes the reflective spirit in children and develops…

The author examines current techniques used to teach elementary school children how to analyze and compare. Emphasis is placed upon developing these modes of mental activity while teaching biological concepts. (DE)

The Future Homemakers of America (FHA) organization has historically provided an ideal climate for development of critical thinking by devoting conscious attention to thinking, teaching skills directly, and providing opportunities for interaction through cooperative learning and discussion. Strategies for expanding the knowledge base and building…

To determine the effects of instruction in general semantics on the critical thinking of secondary students, 104 tenth- and eleventh-grade students in control and experimental groups completed the "Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal" test before and after the 12-week teaching period, in which two teachers spent 1 hour per week in the…

The theme of the seventh yearbook of the Association for the Education of Teachers in Science (AETS) involves the relationship of psychology of teaching thinking and creativity as this activity is performed in a science education context. Eleven chapters follow a foreword by Jean Piaget and the reproduction of Part I of "The Central Purpose of…

Middle-level teachers can avoid passive seatwork and encourage students to think using a "guided thinking" approach, designed to help adolescents develop more sophisticated thinking and reasoning skills. Essential elements of guided thinking are described, along with an implementation strategy and the principal's role in fostering…

The lack of existing research on the cognitive processes in reading is discussed. The definition of cognitive processes, appropriate measuring instruments, concensus concerning the activity to be measured, and problems inherent in the materials and the reader are cited as limitations that are responsible for a shortage of research. Implications…

Intelligence is here defined in terms of component processes, and three programs are reviewed that train aspects of intelligence as specified by this theory: Feuerstein's "Instrumental Enrichment," Lipman's "Philosophy for Children," and the "Chicago Mastery Learning" program. Central suggestions are provided for…

Various student development theorists have postulated that the collegiate experience is a strong contributor toward cognitive development in college students. This essay examines Kitchener and King's (1981, 1985) reflective judgment model of cognitive development as both a metacognitive exercise and as a particular skill. The development of…

This study examined the specific words that college faculty in different disciplines use to convey goals for students using data from 1986-87 interviews with 62 faculty members teaching introductory colleges and a 1988-89 survey of 2105 faculty which established a listing of over 6000 goal statements. Goal statements were examined in order to…

This book describes the Reflective Judgment Model (RJM) and provides a comprehensive review of the research on it and the Reflective Judgment Interview (RJI). Chapter 1 defines reflective judgment as an often neglected aspect of critical thinking. Chapter 2 discusses stage-related assumptions that underlie RJM and relates RJM to current work in…