Although most teachers are familiar with growth mindsets, many conflate it with other terms or concepts or have difficulties understanding how to best foster growth mindsets in their students. Shelby Clark and Madora Soutter describe how growth mindsets are related to, yet distinct from, intellectual risk-taking and share strategies for fostering…

Three authors, writing from different perspectives in different time periods, share the view that students' sense of personal agency is fundamental to their intellectual engagement and deep understanding. The learner's imagination leads to powerful questions that grow when exposed to processes of productive inquiry and social interaction and when…

In order for students to learn well, someone or something must capture their interest. Novelty and intellectual challenges are good approaches for gaining attention. Imaginative strategies include storytelling, discrepant events, dressing in costumes, music, dynamic video clips, comic strips, humor, models, puppets, the element of surprise,…

The notion that the classroom can, indeed must, be a safe space to promote student engagement and enhance academic outcomes is pervasive in the teaching and learning literature. Despite the prevalence of this claim, there is a dearth of empirical evidence documenting the effectiveness of safe space classrooms in achieving these goals. The purpose…

According to McAuliffe and Lovell (2006), regardless of the training received in skills classes, master's level counseling students continue to be rote in their approach to clients and their use of counseling skills as opposed to understanding how skills fit into the helping process. Students also experience confusion manifested by fear, anxiety,…

This article discusses how teachers in child care and elementary schools learn to work with Reggio-inspired pedagogical documentation. While teachers grasp the value of such documentation theoretically, it is most challenging but exciting to use in practical settings. Documentation illuminates teacher theories about children's understanding:…

This article explores how teachers manage classrooms to facilitate the intellectual engagement of disengaged students. The author proposes that teachers create an environment conducive to intellectual engagement when students perceive: (a) that there are opportunities for them to succeed, (b) that flexible avenues exist through which learning can…

Brings the pragmatic and educational goals of language study together through the concept of narrative imagination, which suggests that the study of literary texts promotes civic and intellectual development and allows students to see the world from another point of view. Sets forth five interconnected reading goals as guides for adapting…

Examines non-traditional teaching methods which emphasize groupwork and speaking skills, stating that they should be used in higher education geography courses because they enhance students' intellectual development and general employability. Discusses seven important principles for teaching these skills, arguing that these methods improve both…

The importance of incorporating discussion into college lecture classes is discussed, problems in starting and expanding exchange of ideas are examined, and techniques for "raising the intellectual temperature" of a class are offered. Anecdotal examples are drawn from observations of teachers in a variety of discipline contexts. (MSE)

In this article, the author discusses Robert J. Sternberg's theory of "successful intelligence," which theorizes that intelligence consists of three parts: analytic, creative and practical abilities. Sternberg argues that intelligence can be fostered in the right educational environment by encouraging students to develop and exercise their…

According to a recent Washington State survey, middle school educators need more than general training in teaching and administration to meet young adolescent students' needs. Respondents desired more knowledge about young adolescents' emotional, social, and intellectual development, and appropriate teaching and discipline techniques. Includes…

Parents and teachers help children develop their intelligence by mediating their learning experiences. When children seek such mediation by asking questions, parents and teachers can use one of seven responses. The single most helpful response is to take children's questions seriously and turn them into golden thinking and learning opportunities.…

Basic principles of instruction to effect cognitive change are examined, particularly within the context of South African higher education. Principles include: creating and engaging in conflict between existing knowledge and demands of an unfamiliar task; empowering learners to address the unfamiliar; scaffolding between learner and task; testing…

Examines key psychological principles in contemporary theories of learning (constructivism) and highlights conceptual connections between them and aspects of critical thinking and epistemological maturity described by the reflective judgment model of adult intellectual development. Also describes an undergraduate psychology lesson that bridges…