Discusses WebQuest, an inquiry-oriented Web-based classroom learning tool, in terms of its applicability to classroom learning situations, particularly its ability to inspire critical thinking. Compares WebQuest to a critical thinking framework to determine its effectiveness in inspiring critical thinking skills. (Author/LRW)

Compared the thinking of kindergartners and sixth-graders as expressed in unassisted retellings of a narrative text. Found no significant age differences in retelling lengths and few significant age differences in the amount of types of thinking. Older children tended to summarize paragraphs and single sentences; young children tended to summarize…

Investigates the effects of inquiry activities on a dynamic geometry environment designed to confront students with contradictions and uncertainties. Characterizes epistemological, didactic, and cognitive aspects of the activities. Analyzes the interplay among these three aspects, students' investigations, and their explanations. (Author/KHR)

Presents an account of one teacher's path to realizing the depth of intuitive beliefs about science. Organizes chemistry misconceptions into eight patterns of reasoning that include thinking rules and alternative conceptions. (DDR)

This study aims to establish a theory for planning and practicing mathematics instruction that enables children to actively construct mathematical knowledge. Four types of constructive interactions are recognized on the basis of teaching practice. Processes of the constructive interactions and the requirements for realization of effective…

Describes an activity that promotes analytical thinking and problem solving. Gives students experience with important scientific processes that can be generalized to other new laboratory experiences. Provides students with the opportunity to hypothesize answers, control variables by designing an experiment, and make logical deductions based on…

Describes ways in which general mathematics instruction for students with learning disabilities can focus on math skills needed in daily life in the home, community, and on the job. A table charts the math skills needed for specific life demands. Also addresses life-skills math in the context of reform and curricular considerations. (DB)

Observed infants' responses in a food-requested procedure to explore their understanding of other people's desires. Found that only the 18-month-olds were able to engage in some form of desire reasoning. Children not only inferred that another person held a desire, but also recognized how desires were related to emotions and understood something…

Examined the relation between developmental suggestibility effects and preschoolers' emerging ability to reason about conflicting mental representations. Subjects were 42 three- to five-year-olds. Found in the children significant initial encoding and ability to retrieve event details. Also found an integration between children's theory of mind…

Examined when and how children distinguished deductive and inductive problems. Found that by fourth grade, confidence ratings for deductive problems were higher than those for inductive problems, and responses were faster. Explanations differed as a function of the type of problem. (MOK)

Describes trends affecting both knowledge workers and the performance technologists who support them. Five strategies are suggested for providing performance support: (1) address systems-level issues; (2) align performance technology efforts with technological imperatives; (3) provide information filters; (4) provide custom tools; and (5) make…

Nine- through 14-year-old girls made predictions about and performed experiments involving sinking objects. Found that children initially believed that weight alone determined an object's sinking rate, older but not younger children viewed experimentation as a way of exploring object attributes other than weight, and experimentation helped…

Evidence about the intuitive foundations for learning fractions was found in a study of early developments in proportional reasoning involving 60 children ages 5 to 7 years. Participants were able to use part-whole relations to compare proportions by 7 years. Increasing reliance on part-whole reasoning was observed with age. (SLD)

Elementary combinatorial problems may be classified into three different combinatorial models: (1) selection; (2) partition; and (3) distribution. The main goal of this research was to determine the effect of the implicit combinatorial model on pupils' combinatorial reasoning before and after instruction. Gives an analysis of variance of the…

Explores student performance in chemistry examinations on items that require higher-order cognitive skills (HOCS) or lower-order cognitive skills (LOCS). Findings indicate that students performed considerably lower on questions requiring HOCS than on those requiring LOCS. Performance on questions requiring HOCS may not correlate with that on…