The authors discuss activities that help mentally handicapped adults emphasize thinking processes: observation questions, impact chart, solving a puzzling situation, and use of examples/nonexamples. The authors stress use of simple concepts, concrete objects, and realistic situations in developing intellectual skills. (CT)

Suggests different strategies for helping the educationally disadvantaged high school student improve his or her reading, study, writing skills. (FL)

This teaching guide combines a multisensory approach to teaching children and adults with autism through a structured teaching model for direct instruction. Part 1, divided into three sections, discusses important links to learning: improving communication with multisensory techniques, using practical behavior management techniques to help…

Recently, attention has focused on developing methods for facilitating critical thinking in students. Scaffolding is a method that has been successfully used in many settings to support different learning goals. This study focused on the influence of scaffolding on critical thinking skills in a technology-mediated environment. The main research…

Teachers at every grade level and in every setting are trying to manage and teach students with an increasing diverse range of needs. This paper describes a collaborative study to observe, record, and assess the impact and outcomes of an integrated approach for teaching skills of self-discipline to students considered to be academically at-risk.…

This study sought to determine the extent to which instructional processes characterized by cognitive complexity influence the development of general cognitive abilities during the first, second, and third years of college. The sample for the study consisted of incoming first-year students at 18 four-year and 5 two-year colleges and universities…

The purpose of this study was to examine the use of video streaming of student speeches on the Internet as a method of feedback. Streaming video refers to motion video with accompanying audio that is delivered live or asynchronously and is available at the click of a mouse on a website. A random sample of 73 undergraduate students enrolled in…

Forty-seven first-grade students were taught movement principles by either a movement education approach or by a traditional approach. Posttest results indicate that a movement education training method was no better than training provided by a traditional method. (CJ)

Eleven specific thinking skills are discussed, along with activities to help teachers develop each skill in their students. The skills are: (1) observing; (2) comparing; (3) classifying; (4) imagining; (5) hypothesizing; (6) looking for assumptions; (7) collecting and organizing data; (8) summarizing; (9) interpreting; (10) problem solving; and…

Suggests that educators must address: (1) What should be learned? (2) When should it be learned? (3) How would it best be learned? and (4) How can we tell how well we have answered the first three? Addresses the first three questions by offering principles of practice for early childhood educators, ranging from curriculum to learning disposition…

Gives an overview of the components of the problem-solving process, emphasizing its iterative, not linear, character. Describes how individual characteristics influence problem solving choices and outcomes, and discusses ways in which understanding of problem-solving informs some innovative teaching techniques, with examples from individual…

Argues that including computer programming in the curriculum as a medium for instruction is a feasible alternative for teaching problem solving. Discusses the nature of problem solving; the problem-solving elements of discovery, motivation, practical learning situations and flexibility which are inherent in programming; capabilities of computer…

Suggests that lifelong learning will depend on the development of cognitive skills, but that such skills can be elusive and cannot in general be picked up in specialized courses or workshops. Supports this position by literature references followed by further suggestions for a course of action for the development of language facility through close…

Two field experiments were conducted to compare the effects of a cooperative learning group method to a whole-class method on acquisition of selected social-environmental studies problem-solving skills by 342 fourth graders. Both methods outperformed the control, but the cooperative strategy was less effective than was the whole-class method. (TJH)

A total communication program was introduced to enhance the communication skills of 8 students, age 11-14, with severe and moderate retardation. The method gradually developed into a successful introductory reading program, with instruction focused on sight vocabulary and comprehension skills. (JDD)