Presented is a report on a course for undergraduate students which is designed to increase their intellectual abilities early in their college careers. The report gives the characteristics of concrete thought and formal reasoning, followed by an explanation of the process involved in data collecting and the data itself. The authors suggest that…

Directed at the inquiring practitioner, this paper defines the Outward Bound (OB) process; presents a summarial schema of that process; and provides examples of process application. The OB process definition encompasses the following: the learner must demonstrate motivational readiness (appropriate manifestations of willingness and ability to…

This annotated bibliography lists publications of the Wisconsin Cognitive Learning program components, materials printed for the various curriculum projects, materials sold through the center document service, and materials published for the completed projects. Within each component or project grouping, the research publications are alphabetically…

The problem of what set of instructional materials and equipment and entire instructional systems to use is presented, with specific reference to the area of Correctional Adult Basic Education (ABE). In setting up an ABE program, the initial order of business is to construct a viable model, one that insures that rapid and significant learning will…

An experimental study compared the instructional effectiveness of Logo programming, commercially available software designed to aid composition and problem solving, and traditional teaching methods for low socioeconomic status first-grade students. Both software environments enhanced problem solving performance for a novel task, but Logo was most…

Describes seven problems designed to enhance the development of four types of student communication in mathematics: (1) describing observations; (2) justifying solutions and solution processes; (3) documenting thinking; and (4) completing or creating mathematical problems. (MDH)

Provides excerpts from videotaped dialogue between two third grade students and their interactions with their teacher while solving a counting problem to describe student thinking and communication during the task. Discusses the teachers' role in the dialogue and implications for classroom practice. (MDH)

This learning module is designed to enable participants from any workplace setting to identify their own learning styles and to raise awareness of how to work with other employees who have different learning styles. The module includes units for six class sessions. Each unit includes the following materials: rationale, learning objectives,…

A study was designed to test the hypothesis that a descriptive-type learning cycle was insufficient to stimulate students to reason at a reflective level or to develop an understanding of, and facility with, the processes of scientific investigation. In order to test the hypothesis, four classes of ninth-grade physical science students (n=100)…

This report summarizes a project in which a number of new approaches were taken to improve learning in undergraduate basic music instruction for music majors. The basic viewpoint proposed was that music activities can be seen as skilled problem solving in the areas of aural analysis, visual analysis, and understanding of compositional processes.…

This book is a collection of essays forming a mosaic of theory, research, and practice directed at the task of spreading mathematical knowledge based on the learning theory of constructivism. The authors collectively address questions raised by the observation that current practice frequently generate in the student an aversion to mathematics.…

This monograph proposes a theoretical basis for advocating a program of disciplinary arts education as an integral part of general education from kindergarten through grade 12. The theme of the essay is the role that images play in everyday experience and the formation of the educated mind. Images are sensory patterns or patterns produced by the…

Evidence suggests that instruction in thinking skills is neither widespread nor successful. Most students do not score well on tests that measure their ability to recognize assumptions, evaluate arguments, or appraise inferences. However, a number of educators believe that it is possible to teach thinking skills, and have suggested that the…

A three-dimensional classification system of mathematical problems is given. A background philosophy is constructed through an analysis of different approaches to problem-solving research, leading to the statement of 5 theses and the objectives for the study. An exploratory study of mathematical problem-solving processes is conducted within this…

Discussed are the theoretical explanations of the observation that low intelligence quotient (IQ), low socioeconomic status children appear to be brighter in certain ways than low IQ middle class youngsters. The two different theories on IQ as a function of socioeconomic status--environmental or cultural vs. genetically determined biological…