This is one of three volumes of instructional games devised to further the development of children's listening, logical thinking, problem solving, and oral communication skills. The games are designed to create a relaxed, informal setting in which teachers can encourage and support children's natural speech and provide language activities that…

This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The 15 titles deal with the following topics: (1) a hierarchy of purposes for reading assignments applied to secondary school social studies; (2) the effects of sentence combining practice on reading comprehension; (3) the effects of…

This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The 30 titles deal with a variety of topics, including the following: (1) the effect of a series of lessons based on real life experiences for improving reading achievement; (2) reading achievement and the transition from letter to…

The purpose of this publication is to help teachers identify the levels which children have attained in their thinking as they express their attitudes, values, and behaviors through oral language. Provided are (1) sample questions applicable to various maturity levels to enable teachers to gauge the level of difficulty of their classroom…

This study presents the procedures and results of an experiment conducted in Sweden to assess the relative effectiveness of two methods of teaching the grammatical structures of English as a foreign language to adults. The main objective of the study is to find indications as to which of the two theories (the audiolingual habit theory or the…

Project 3 of the GUME research project on foreign language teaching methods, in line with Projects 1 and 2, questions whether the best effect in language teaching is achieved solely by intensive drilling of the structure in question (the implicit method) or if grammatical explanations further the assimilation of the patterns so that, within the…

Causes of cognitive underdevelopment in Zulu children and the cognitive functions necessary for efficient school learning are outlined. To assess potential for learning and to remediate cognitive underfunctioning, 20 secondary students analyzed, organized, and reproduced a complex geometric figure. Positive effects were evident following specific…

This study examines thought, language, and related action in sixth-graders working to understand concepts related to mass, volume, and density. Students from a heterogeneous urban classroom worked in various social contexts including individually, in pairs, in groups of four, and as a class. Their work was examined via videotapes, field notes,…

Contrasts two approaches to achieving depth in an 8th grade U.S. history class. One presents a detailed and chronological approach, the other a discipline-based matrix structure with chronological and regional evolutions as a backdrop. Favors stressing major principles and generalizations while focusing in depth on prototypical examples. (MJP)

Asserts that written work has advantages over oral discussion in the development and assessment of students' critical thinking skills. Describes a set of short writing assignments that focuses on eight essential aspects of critical and creative thought. Provides examples of how to use writing assignments in college psychology courses. (CFR)

Contends that no single definition of critical thinking is widely accepted. Describes issues related to critical thinking and offers suggestions for demystifying the concept. Presents a framework for a psychology curriculum using performance-based assessment practices. (CFR)

Describes the use and rationale of "Silent Teaching," a teaching technique in which the teacher remains silent as students generate and evaluate hypotheses while trying to understand an as-yet undiscovered concept. (MDH)

Describes the "number 2 arithmetic challenge," an activity in which students score points by creating examples using the number 2 that satisfy an unknown rule. Computers are utilized to verify and record examples. Conflicts with computer responses create situations to explore negative numbers, fractions, mixed numbers, the order of…

Presents the results of a survey of 165 seventh grade students asked to respond yes, no, or maybe to 21 metacognitive statements about their cognitive activity on a mathematical word problem. Suggests how to use the responses as a basis for developing classroom activities. (MDH)

Presents a scripted lesson plan for intermediate grades, based on M.C. Wittrock's model of generative teaching derived from brain lateralization research. Uses a shopping mall as the setting for hypothetical dilemmas. Offers a combination of verbal and imagined strategies that improve students' economic reasoning and teaches cost-benefit analysis.…