In this article, the author outlines a variety of ways of defining, making explicit, and supporting effective team-based projects through the basic tenets of Lean Six Sigma and the use of Web-based technologies. A combination of Lean Six Sigma and a handful of project management technologies not only help in fostering the communication central to…

During the last few decades, the author and his colleagues have developed an instructional framework for infusing thinking into content instruction in every subject and at every grade level. In thinking-based learning, teachers explicitly teach students thinking strategies and important habits of mind and then give students opportunities to apply…

Students and instructors may be frustrated with students' lack of understanding of sociological concepts. We suggest that the difficulty of teaching and learning sociology is that sociological concepts and relationships require the use of abstract reasoning patterns. Many students are unaccustomed to using these abstract reasoning patterns. We use…

This paper proposes a model for teaching and learning complex thinking skills developed from a synthesis of theories and research. The model functions like a concept map or a graphic organizer with five major components, each discussed in this paper: (1) presence of complex authentic life situations within a context; (2) activation and execution…

Argumentation courses, which emphasize the theories of argumentation, and debate courses, which teach competitive debate, can effectively teach critical thinking, training students to see situations from a variety of perspectives and then to evaluate those perspectives for their relative merit. William G. Perry maps out nine stages by which…

Examines some of the assumptions associated with attempts to define the "engineering method." Critiques a previously stated definition of this method, and offers an alternative definition that attempts to include the ideas put forth in the previous definition. Discusses the use of engineering heuristics in both definitions. (TW)

Examines the problem-solving strategies of experts and novices. Summarizes the overall performance of four experts and eight novices. Examines several protocols in depth in order to show how subjects introduced new terms and relationships during problem solving sessions. Compares the strategies of expert and novice problem solvers. (CW)

Research has revealed distinct differences in the problem-solving approaches of high- and low-aptitude students. As a consequence, content area teachers can focus on thinking skills by having students describe their mental processes and giving them feedback on erroneous or incomplete reasoning. (TE)

A number of studies have reported that there is a strong tendency to ignore base-rate information in favor of individuating information, except when the former can readily be incorporated into a causal schema. In this study, students in eight undergraduate classes were given problems in which the base-rate information was either causal or…

Computer-mediated communication (CMC) technologies are becoming increasingly important components of online educational environments (Romiszowski & Mason, 2004). The online discussion forum that is a significant component of many web-based courses is one type of CMC. Instructors and students rely on these asynchronous forums to engage one another…

The major perspectives on problem solving of the twentieth century are reviewed--associationism, Gestalt psychology, and cognitive science. The results of the review on teaching problem solving and the uses of computers to teach problem solving are included. Four major issues related to the teaching of problem solving are discussed: (1)…

Reviews a monograph which addresses children's higher-order thinking skills. Suggests the following for teaching problem solving: identify and develop content-independent and content-dependent problem-solving skills, connect developed skills through workshop-style activities to subject discipline, and help students identify and reconstruct their…

This book contains a compilation of papers presented at the International Conference on Education and New Developments (END 2017), organized by the World Institute for Advanced Research and Science (W.I.A.R.S.). Education, in our contemporary world, is a right since we are born. Every experience has a formative effect on the constitution of the…

Critical and situated thinking in the respiratory care profession were examined through an exploratory factor analysis of the critical thinking behaviors of a sample of 868 respiratory therapists. The respiratory therapists completed a survey instrument containing 44-questions related to how well particular critical thinking behaviors are…

The IADIS CELDA 2012 Conference intention was to address the main issues concerned with evolving learning processes and supporting pedagogies and applications in the digital age. There had been advances in both cognitive psychology and computing that have affected the educational arena. The convergence of these two disciplines is increasing at a…