Introduction: The aim of this study was to analyze how oral argumentative strategies, argumentative sequences and interaction patterns relate to argumentative content and the required learning objectives. Method: Two different kinds of debates were analyzed. In the first, the participants defended one point of view, while in the second the…

This paper argues for connecting two domains that have remained relatively isolated within their respective disciplines--research on thinking and the social origins of cognition. Both enterprises have become enmeshed in education. Neither have considered in any serious way the power and implications that an integrated perspective could contribute…

This investigation studied that relationship between structured teacher-student verbal interaction and critical thinking ability of students in an introductory course in general college biology. This interaction took the form of lecture, of discussion using broad questions, and of discussion using narrow questions as the three primary teaching…

This book is intended to help teachers and college students promote more effective learning through development of critical thinking and reflective learning skills. Part 1 is about theory; it consists of five chapters, which include an overview of the book's themes as well as discussions of learning philosophies and models, learning theories, the…

Each of three teachers at Isaac Young Junior High School, New Rochelle, New York, taught three groups of ninth-grade students--two experimental classes (one taught by expository methods and one by inductive methods) and one control class taught the usual curriculum. For both expository methodology and inductively-based instruction, current high…

Questions teachers use to elicit responses from students affect the kind of thought process the student will use and subsequently the type of answer he will suggest ways in which behavioral and educational objectives are reflected in teacher questions. Simplified interaction analysis techniques can be useful in diagnosing and assessing the…

This article describes a teaching experiment in Finland to develop critical thinking and argumentation skills in a university course using both face-to-face and e-mail settings. Subjects (n=49) were advanced students of education and three faculty members. All students received two lectures on argumentation and packages of argumentative writings…

Limitations of past research on college teaching and a recent exploratory study are considered. The study focused on the degree to which teachers encourage, praise, or use student ideas; the degree to which teachers ask questions that encourage evaluative and divergent thinking; the degree to which students make higher levels of cognitive…