Defines semiotics and outlines its implications for teaching language arts. (PRA)

Semiotics, the study of signs, is a relatively new and highly controversial area. Symbols, icons, and indexes represent the three types of signs. Semantics, pragmatics, and syntactics represent the three basic semiotic areas, with pragmatics having a growing influence in oral language and reading. A comprehensive view of curriculum is implicit in…

Intended for teachers, this monograph encourages readers to consider the notion that thinking critically is a matter of reading signs, that it is the function of signs that makes reflective thinking possible. The book contains the following chapters: (1) "Beyond a Literal Reading"; (2) "Current Thinking on Critical Thinking";…

The controversial field of semiotics has been criticized for its "unwillingness to respect boundaries" and its "conviction that everything is a sign." The central concerns of this wide-ranging field, however, can be defined, and its implications for teaching can be outlined. Semiotics is the study of signs (symbols, icons, and…

Designed to help practitioners become more familiar with the underpinnings, currents, pros and cons, and research studies produced by the critical-thinking movement in the United States, this special collection offers eight digests and three FAST (Focused Access to Selected Topics) annotated bibliographies concerning critical thinking at all…