In 1990, Elizabeth Dole, then Secretary of the Department of Labor, established the Secretary's Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills (SCANS) to determine the skills that youths need to participate in the workplace and the skill levels that entry-level jobs require. SCANS determined that workplace skills consist of foundation skills and…

This ERIC Digest discusses three ways in which teachers can create an environment that stimulates critical inquiry: critical reading; writing to learn; and classification games. Critical reading has been defined as learning to evaluate, draw inferences, and arrive at conclusions based on the evidence. Elbow's (1983) writing to learn approach to…

Parents can play an important role in helping their children succeed in school. This ERIC Digest presents the Big Six Skills problem-solving method as an effective approach for parents. The Big Six Skills apply to any problem or activity that requires a solution or result based on information. The Big Six can help parents effectively deal with the…

Seven job-related basic skills identified as skills employers want are as follows: (1) learning to learn; (2) reading, writing, and computation; (3) oral communication and listening; (4) creative thinking and problem solving; (5) personal management, including self-esteem, goal setting, motivation, and personal and career development; (6) group…

Career counseling in secondary schools is important for all students, but it is especially critical for students with learning disabilities. This digest describes how making developmental career counseling a focus in secondary schools contributes to the success of youth with learning disabilities in post-school employment. These students show…

Few of the English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) participants in adult education classes move on to academic ESL programs that prepare them for content area study or general educational development (GED) or high school equivalency instruction. The ESL literacy curriculum is currently mismatched with GED and academic ESL curricula in purpose, content,…

This digest concerns itself with the origin of reflective thought, the application of theories about reflective thought to classrooms, conflicts and issues, and a synthesis of the essential ideas. Sections of the Digest address origin of the idea of reflective thought, definitions of reflective thinking, questioning strategies, how to generate…

This digest contrasts the traditional view of learning characteristic of classroom instruction with the emerging "constructivist" view that emphasizes the understanding of how and why students learn. The latter takes learning as a knowledge construction process that closely relates to prior knowledge and the learning context. It lends…

Educators have understood the potential of technology in supplementing the instructional process, including the use of technology in the area of assessment. Technology used with good testing practices offers some capabilities that add value to educational assessment. These include: accessibility; immediate feedback; ability to use new assessment…

This digest addresses the importance of and the methods used to assess the performance of college students. Following a definition of "assessment," the digest considers: (1) why classroom assessment of students' achievement is important; (2) how an instructor can ensure the quality of information from classroom assessments; (3) methods…

Critical thinking skills figure prominently among the goals for education proposed by educational researchers, parents, and employers. This digest discusses the skills related to critical thinking and three specific strategies for teaching these skills. The first, Building Categories, is an inductive reasoning tool that helps students categorize…

Problem-based learning (PBL) is an educational approach that challenges students to "learn to learn"--students work cooperatively in groups to seek solutions to real-world problems and, more importantly, to develop skills to become self-directed learners. PBL is unique in its integral emphasis on core content along with problem solving.…

Noting that it is only within the last decade that schools have begun to identify ways to optimize language use to promote higher level thinking, this ERIC Digest focuses on developing thinking skills in reading. The digest discusses the impetus for critical reading, the use of children's literature as a tool for teaching thinking skills, a…

This Digest discusses approaches to group learning in the language classroom, presenting some principles that are common to any group learning approach, whether it be cooperative learning, student team learning, group investigation, or collaborative learning. The Digest also discusses the Collaborative Learning Model (Reid et al., 1989) which…

It appears that the value of providing students with strategies to activate their prior knowledge base or to build a base if one does not exist is supported by current research. Creating an opportunity to challenge students to call on their collective experiences (prior knowledge) is essential. Through this process, teachers move students from…