There are good reasons to be very careful about generalizations about Catholic higher education in the United States. Recall that the 220 or so Catholic colleges and universities are of very different kinds, very different sizes, with different student bodies, and are located in different parts of a country that sometimes have quite different…

Reflects on the origins and development of the author's thinking about the nature of writing and the relationship between writing and cognition. Recounts efforts to understand the effects of writing on cognition. Revises an earlier contention that literacy represents a form of cultural progress in favor of a more cautious view of writing as an…

Argues that the mission of the university is to create intelligence. Defines intelligence, discusses research on cognitive processes of learning, and discusses obstacles to using the demonstrate-label-coach-mastery strategy emphasizing the value of the clinical approach used to teach seven specific skills. Presents a classroom illustration of this…

A graduate of a course in history's great ideas and the processes of thinking about them encourages the development of similar courses, arguing that important aspects of intellectual development are being ignored in the current college curriculum. (MSE)

Proposes six principles to follow when teaching students to think. Aimed at teaching thinking as an indivisible process rather than as a set of discrete skills, the principles involve active learning, the articulation of thinking, intuitive understanding, structuring courses developmentally, motivating learning, and establishing a positive…

Verstehen, the understanding of human behavior, can be of value to teacher and student alike, bringing both to an increased level of sophistication in the learning process. (Author/PG)

While university students are adept at acquiring knowledge, they are less and less skilled in critical thinking, and nearly illiterate in enlarged understanding, or contextual thinking. Higher education trains students to merely assume responsibility for tasks, not think about the larger realities of which they are a part. (MSE)

In an investigation of the relationship of the logical operations to other developmental sequences, 30 college students were assessed as to logical operational ability and poetic interpretation. The strong relation found between these two abilities supports the theoretically predicted applicability of central, formal reasoning structures to…

Because university teachers tend to be intellectually lazy and avoid sound, rigorous thought, it is emphasized that they should weigh evidence, assess arguments fairly, and take a partial stand on values and philosophies they hold. (ND)

A working definition of the humanities and characteristics of a liberally educated person are specified. The humanities embrace areas of human knowledge that possess these elements: central concern for human beings rather than for the processes of nature or the structures of society; primary focus on the individual rather than on the group;…

Where does course content fit into the context of modern theories and practices of a liberal arts education? Two camps within the academic community are described: those who feel responsible for the personal growth of their students and those who see themselves as dispensers of information. (LBH)

Seventy-five preservice elementary school teachers were given a Piagetian-related paper-and-pencil test involving the equilibrium of a beam balance. Results show a significant positive relationship between the developmental levels of the clearness, as measured by the test, and their performance on equation solving when different reversible…

With a knowledge of students' thinking processes, activities advisers and leaders can design environments for maximum learning and development. An interpretation of Perry's model of intellectual and ethical development is provided. (MLW)

Engineering education is viewed as the development of the quality of thinking in students, and the implications of this approach for student assessment are discussed. (MSE)

The knowledge era demands that students and faculty analyze and organize information, which requires intellectual skills rooted in critical thinking, problem solving, formal operations, creative, and more recent metacognitive and cognitive concepts. These skills seem to have operations in common, including description, selection, representation,…