A learning cycle consists of three phases: exploration; conceptual invention; and expansion of an idea. These phases parallel Piaget's functioning model of assimilation, disequilibrium and accomodation, and organization respectively. The learning cycle perceives students as actors rather than reactors to the environment. Inherent in that…

Drawn largely from the experiences of Bloomfield College (Illinois) with its Freshman Core Program, but citing other efforts to develop thinking skills as well, this essay considers several questions and issues concerning the cognitive skills approach to teaching. The paper begins by identifying some of the increasingly common learning problems…

Instructors face many choices, and their decisions and actions should be based on certain concepts. Believing that many instructors do not know enough about those concepts and the educational research and theories behind them, the authors brings together a synthesis of what is available in the realm of teaching and learning: theoretical and…