Information flows continuously in the environment. As we attempt to do something, our senses receive large volumes of information. In any conversation, messages are exchanged rapidly. To understand meaning, we have to focus, record, choose and process relevant information at every moment, before it is displaced by other information. Often,…

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)

Children's ability to infer consequences from sentences automatically was assessed in two cued recall experiments. Seven- and eight-year-old children and adults served as subjects. (JMB)

Argues that the best way to cultivate children's reasoning is to make philosophy an essential part of the elementary school curriculum. Philosophy alone provides the logical criteria for distinguishing better thinking from poorer. The author's "Philosophy for Children" program is described. (TE)

The philosophical roots of the concept of lifelong learning are considered in relation to the views of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. They pioneered in their analyses of intellectual development and in the importance of the use of the mind throughout the life span. Plato and Aristotle added metaphysical arguments to support their systems of…

It is hypothesized that certain mental structures are related to certain teaching skills. These structures are identified as combinatorial logic, essential to planning lessons, and hypothetical reasoning, an important aid in analyzing lessons. These formal thinking abilities should result in greater improvement during practice and later teaching.…

The development of children's comprehension of cause and effect relationships was studied in 68 kindergarten, first grade, and second grade children. (BRT)

The link between writing and the development of reasoning abilities, and implications for the college curriculum are discussed. The developmental models/theories of Piaget, Kohlberg, Gilligan, and Perry are described. Perry identifies a level of cognitive development called "dualism," which is a tendency to view the world in absolute,…

Recently, a number of studies have reported a high correlation between the supposedly separate traits described as integrated science process skills and formal reasoning ability. The implication has been that these two constructs are different but related. Further implications have been made that a treatment to enhance one "trait" might…

To broaden and develop reasoning powers in students the teacher should encourage observation, critical questioning of hypotheses, evaluation of conclusions and how they are reached, and propose new avenues of approach to problems. (JD)

Examined children's ability to settle causal relations and their capacity to make conclusions based on certain experiences and representations. Found that preschool children have a solid explanatory basis for their everyday life, within which facts are not generally accepted but are interpreted through a certain "logic," and the motives…

Argues that much of current science curricula and instructional strategies do not accommodate the thinking and reasoning capabilities of students. Level of capacity for abstract logical reasoning, whether the capacity can be cultivated/enhanced, consequences of mismatched intellectual levels and instructional modes, and what thinking/reasoning…

Evidence is provided to refute the suggestion, made by Macnamara et al. (1976), that four-year-old children perform logical operations corresponding to formal logic upon the sentential components of implicative verbs to produce indirect implications. It is argued that children use past knowledge plus additional premises to derive indirect…

Presents a rebuttal to Hidi and Hildyard's (1976) criticism of Macnamara et al.'s (1976) assertion regarding the ability of four-year-old children to grasp implicatives and presuppositions. (AM)