Instruction in thinking skills is possible and desirable, but educators must guard against assumptions that undermine the process. Eight fallacies that obstruct the teaching of critical thinking skills are presented. (MD)

Discusses the three counterforces that work against teaching art in the schools: (1)students' naive concepts; (2) schooling's neglect of intelligent behavior; and (3) counterproductive disciplinary procedures. Presents the concept of "invisible art" used to teach an experimental course in art appreciation. Includes extensive references. (MD)

Current syllabi and textbooks, in trying to cover every important idea, trivialize them all. The Coalition of Essential Schools believes that students will learn more if teachers are allowed to cover less. The advantages of a slower, thought-provoking curriculum, and recommendations for designing one, are provided. (BJV)

Many influential reviewers refuse to consider the central ideas and recommendations of Ravich and Finn in "What Do Our 17-Year Olds Know?" and Hirsch in "Cultural Literacy." One hopes this will not continue: the willingness of academicians to openly debate the problems and opportunities of improving our schools is crucial to…

Identifies areas of knowledge that differ between successful and at-risk students: sense of self-as-learner, level of understanding of problems in subjects, and ability to interact in relationships. Suggests a hands-on project to develop problem-solving abilities and self-confidence. Discusses objectives for a restructured curriculum. (DK)

The status of citizenship education in American public elementary and secondary schools is discussed and suggestions are made for curriculum development. Although administrators rank citizenship education as a high priority, research shows it is given minimal attention in elementary grades and inadequate coverage in high school. Students must be…

Indicates the need for deliberate, better, and systematic attention to the teaching of critical thinking skills, as per "A Nation At Risk" recommendations. Presents an effective teaching sequence with a definition and classification of critical thinking and stresses the difficulty of the actual teaching of critical thinking skills. (TRS)

This teaching guide provides an integrated framework for teaching thinking skills which involves both teaching thinking in a separate program or course and infusing the teaching of thinking into standard subject area instruction across the curriculum. Individual chapters deal with the following topics: (1) the nature of thinking skills and…

The Coalition of Essential Schools promotes the following principles: (1) personalized instruction; (2) student-as-worker, teacher-as-coach; (3) focus on adolescents; (4) focus on essential skills and knowledge; (5) teachers as generalists; (6) diploma by exhibition of mastery; (7) goals for all students; (8) tone of expectation, trust, and…

Focusing on thinking skills which are basic to citizenship, the paper reviews definitions of citizenship from Plato to the present, discusses scholarly thinking about citizenship, lists general principles of skill development, and presents two brief sample lessons. Citizenship is interpreted as social interaction which is based upon global…

Procedures for revising a K-12 social studies program so that it includes thinking skill activities and for implementing the revised curriculum are discussed. Procedures are: the formation of a curriculum committee and sub-committees; current program assessment to determine needs regarding thinking skills; deciding on a rationale; selecting…

The pamphlet provides a framework for teaching decision making skills at the elementary and secondary levels. The first section presents five criteria for selecting instructional objectives, subject matter, and teaching procedures in basic education. The criteria include (1) emphasis on skills for daily living, (2) relevance to students' personal…

Social studies education is irrelevant to most students and will not be improved by either of the two most frequently suggested solutions: teacher accountability and inservice programs. A better way of improving social studies programs is to reform teacher education. Problems currently facing teacher training include indifference on the part of…

This collection of research reports explores teaching cognitive skills to at-risk students. Focus includes the following: (1) broad issues guiding the research; (2) historical perspective; (3) student characteristics; (4) student needs; (5) research on teaching thinking and problem solving; (6) teacher training; and (7) instructional and…

Focusing upon training teachers for a world perspective, the report presents papers by educators from Hong Kong, Nigeria, England, and the University of Indiana. The first part of the paper describes the Trans-Cultural Teacher Education Project. The basic objectives of the project are to enable people to understand human nature in greater depth,…