The article describes "boundary breakers," a communication activity in which a leader asks an open-ended question and all answers are acceptable. The article outlines suggestions for preparing for the activity, the rules of the activity, examples of successful adaptations, and classroom summaries and closures. Sample topic questions are offered.…

Students with learning disabilities and behavior problems need instruction designed to increase active thinking and questioning skills. Described methods for teaching these skills include T. Raphael's question-answer relationships, A. Hahn's questioning strategy, reciprocal teaching, and the "ReQuest" procedure. Practice activities for…

Discusses the dangers inherent in any attempt to use a totally individualized instruction approach in teaching social studies. The authors maintain that group work is more useful in developing students' thinking skills and should be combined with individualized instruction to create a balanced program. (Author/DB)

States that developing the ability to think is the primary goal of social studies education. Examines the renewed attention that is being focused on this skill. Reviews the inquiry method, questioning, and discussion as means of promoting thinking in the classroom. (GEA)

Discusses optimal teacher actions in developing inquiry skills through Flanders Category System, (created to describe and classify classroom interactions), and Blooms Taxonomy of Educational Objectives, (created to identify levels of intellectual operations). Identifies different purposes served by different level questions. (Author/DB)

Despite nearly universal agreement that students need to do more, think more, and be more active in the classroom, most classrooms are still firmly teacher centered. While teachers use various questioning strategies to develop and enhance critical thinking, historically they are the generators of the questioning process. Thus, many students are…

Several examples are presented to illustrate possible methods for unobtrusively evaluating outcomes of problem-solving-oriented social studies learning. Evaluation techniques such as observation, interviewing, checklists, and self-awareness exercises are explained. (Author/JR)

Provides strategies, designed to achieve a high aural and artistic level, to help students who hear without really listening. Stresses the importance of addressing Standards 6 and 7 of the National Standards for Music Education (CMK)

Examines the socialization of student question-asking behavior. Documents students' self-initiated questions in an attempt to determine whether high- and low-potential students learn different questioning skills. Findings generally support the authors' passivity model, which claims that students learn to become passive in classrooms because of…

Writing conferences enable student writers to get feedback and make improvements as they write. Both teachers and students see writing as an evolving process rather than as a unalterable product to be corrected. Tips on how to manage conferences and examples of their use with students are given. (PP)

Classroom teachers frequently use various programs, strategies, and techniques to enhance student thinking, including questioning, writing, and general information processing (meaning construction, encoding, matching, analyzing, representing, and abstracting). The paper notes other strategies not used or underutilized by teachers. (SM)

Focuses on how student problem solving skills can be improved by teaching them a problem solving model. Includes a technique for developing student inquiry thinking using the game, Twenty Questions, or by examining conflicting statements. Includes the article, "Using Problem Solving Skills in a Fifth-Grade Classroom" (Alan Rock and Nicole…

Teachers at the elementary, secondary, or college level can use postage stamps to help students develop skills in language arts, data gathering, and critical analysis. The era of the American Revolution is used to illustrate this teaching technique. (Author/RM)

The programed materials for inservice teacher education described in this document are designed to make the teacher think about questioning techniques and learn some of the principles of good questioning procedures. The program is designed as a home study course. This descriptive report provides further information on the purposes and content of…

Discusses four teaching methods that are fundamental to social studies instruction: (1) the lecture method; (2) guided discussion; (3) reading skills instruction; and (4) project-based instruction. Explains that these methods enable teachers to vary instruction, meet the needs of diverse learners, and develop student understanding. (CMK)