Outlines an issue-centered approach to teaching aesthetics, where students identify and analyze possible solutions before learning an aesthetician's viewpoint. Suggests that teachers acquire basic aesthetic knowledge but also be willing to accept planned uncertainty as an educational principle. Presents a fictional art forgery scenario to…

Presents the reactions of a mathematics educator and a mathematician to a seven-year-old student's response for finding square numbers. Reflects on the mathematician's focus on the mathematics of the problem and the mathematics educator's focus on the student's systematic way of working, and discusses the common focus of student creativity. (MDH)

Discusses results of an action research study of second-grade students' group work which indicated that, when students were not given sample solutions for problems, they were more likely to use higher order thinking, take ownership of strategies, discuss solutions longer, and be more accepting of other views. (MKR)

"Principles and Standards for School Mathematics" states that in the middle grades "measurement concepts and skills can be developed and used throughout the school year rather than treated exclusively as a separate unit of study" (National Council of Teachers of Mathematics 200, p. 241). This article describes a collaborative activity that…

Many of the most talented authors and artists of the past and present have shared their thoughts and their gifts with young children through picture books. Many picture books allow young children to explore important ideas and to stretch their minds far beyond rote memorization. Young children absorb knowledge at a very rapid pace. In an age of…

The gap between researchers and teachers has minimized the impact that research should have on school development. Using teachers as researchers is one way of empowering them to adopt the perspective of the researcher. Research-oriented activity is then seen as one promising means of improving the teachers' pedagogical expertise. It is assumed…

This teaching guide provides an integrated framework for teaching thinking skills which involves both teaching thinking in a separate program or course and infusing the teaching of thinking into standard subject area instruction across the curriculum. Individual chapters deal with the following topics: (1) the nature of thinking skills and…

This book is designed to provide readers with an in-depth understanding of the 16 skills that employers believe are workplace basics. Part One centers on the economic importance of the 16 skills and provides a theoretical basis for why these skills are important. Part Two discusses the foundation skill, learning to learn, on which all other skills…

Action learning is a potentially empowering management development strategy--empowering to managers and through them to employees. The core of the action learning process is similar to the empowerment process identified by Freire (1973), although the context of these approaches is very different: praxis. Praxis involves critical reflection on…

The main emphasis of this investigation was to study the relationship of three cognitive styles (response tempo, response style and response ambiguity) of problem solving. A sample of 288 junior high school students participated in the study to ascertain the degree to which each cognitive style contributes to creative problem solving. The…

A fundamental obligation of schooling in a democracy is to educate youth in the skills, knowledge, and attitudes that are crucial to an informed and involved citizenry. If schools are to enhance a citizenship based on taking responsibility for one's thinking and actions, imaginative expression and critical thinking must be taught. (RM)

Using the children's book "Tops and Bottoms" by Janet Stevens--an adaptation of the classic fable of the Tortoise and the Hare--students are given opportunities to build connections between a problem-solving situation and mathematics and to communicate solutions through writing, symbols, and diagrams. A key concept is to demonstrate to students…

Ethnographic research (1) observes human behavior in its natural setting over a substantial period of time, (2) claims that classes of events are better understood through intensive examination of carefully selected particular cases, (3) incorporates as many of the complexities and variables into a setting as possible, and (4) is usually comprised…

Practical ways in which writing was used in a college level introductory social psychology course are described. Rather than being used almost exclusively as a tool for evaluation, the process of writing was also used as a tool for problem solving and for producing creative and analytical thinking. Writing was integrated into the course in three…

A GENERAL, PROBLEM-SOLVING PROGRAM (GPSP), CONSISTING OF 16 CREATIVE PROBLEMS FOR THE FIFTH AND SIXTH GRADE LEVELS PRESENTED IN A SELF-INSTRUCTIONAL LINEAR FORMAT, WAS DEVELOPED AS A PROTOTYPE OF INSTRUCTIONAL LINEAR MATERIALS ON CREATIVE PROBLEM SOLVING. THROUGHOUT THE SERIES OF LESSONS, A STORY LINE IS MAINTAINED TO GIVE THE READER A SET OF…