Looks at relationships between cognitive skills and cognitive style in Anglophone Canadian students. Finds that they are statistically independent, that there is a statistically significant relationship between sex and performance in some subjects, and that there is a statistically significant relationship between skill, style, and subject in…

Notes that there have been no studies of student teachers' learning how to use primary sources to teach history. Generates general characteristics of the task based on discussions among historians and philosophers. Uses these to frame an investigation of difficulties encountered by student teachers while learning to use primary sources. (DSK)

Evaluated the effectiveness of a computerized interactive athletic training educational curriculum (IATEC) compared to traditional lecture. Undergraduate students with no formalized instruction in athletic training participated in traditional lecture, IATEC, or control groups. Following their education, students completed examinations. Although…

The Cognitive Holding Power Questionnaire (J. Stevenson, 1990) measures the press for higher and lower order thinking in classroom environments. Results from 1203 Australian high school students show that it is the teacher, rather than other environmental aspects, who is central to the press for different kinds of thinking in the classroom. (SLD)

Not all learning activities are worth keeping. For kids to know and understand important curriculum concepts, hands-on activities should also be "minds-on." Backward Design is a three-step curriculum model that helps teachers identify desired results, determine acceptable evidence of student learning, and plan learning experience and…

Discusses four books that will be useful to teachers who are rethinking how and why they teach grammar, and who want to connect and imbed the study of grammar in students' thinking and writing. (SR)

Uses questioning techniques to teach about caloric consumption and weight gain. Starts with defining questions about calories and includes the stages of measuring calories, analyzing data, and conducting inquiry research. Includes directions for the experiment. (YDS)

This article discusses ways that sophistication can be incorporated into the curriculum to address the needs of gifted learners. Educators are urged to use questions, integrated curriculum, problem-based learning, independent and self-directed study projects, and mentor experiences to facilitate the exploration of ideas beyond the scope of the…

This article explains how the theory of the motivated mind conceptualizes the productive interaction of intelligence, creativity, and achievement motivation and how this theory can help educators to maximize students' emergent potential for giftedness. It discusses the integration of cold-order thinking and hot-chaotic thinking into fluid-adaptive…

Investigated intervention effects on mental models of multivariable causality in middle school students involved in inquiry learning. Found that inquiry learning promoted a correct mental model based on additive effects of individual features and a meta-strategic understanding of the need to control influences of other features. Also found…

Three hypotheses were tested about how children and adults construct intuitive models when encountering a new property. Causal models showed that 10-, 13-, and 19-year-olds transferred principles from familiar property to novel property. None used default model. Younger children's models were affected by domain. Findings suggest that the transfer…

Describes a research and development project, Cognitively Guided Instruction, to illustrate how theory and research inform the teaching and learning of mathematics. The project engaged first grade teachers with research-based knowledge about the development of children's mathematical thinking, studying teachers' use of this knowledge in the…

Introduces a bubble activity to teach about the nature of molecules, surface tension, light waves, and color. Explains how to make the bubble solution and includes a lab worksheet with answers to the questions. (YDS)

Describes a computer application that uses graphics, color, and animation to make the learning of statistical reasoning with uncertainty easier and more fun. Notes that the initial implementation focuses on the Dempster-Shafer model, although the design is a framework that can incorporate other models. Also discusses how the tool may be used to…

Describes an alternative assessment approach to measure the knowledge and skills of students at the end of a hands-on, process-, and concept-oriented science program. Four segments of the evaluation are: general knowledge, laboratory skills, critical thinking and problem-solving skills, and teacher-specific assessments. Emphasizes retention of…