Studies the performance of freshmen biology and physics-mathematics majors and chemistry majors as well as pre- and in-service chemistry teachers at two Israeli universities on algorithmic (ALG), lower-order cognitive skills (LOCS), and higher-order cognitive skills (HOCS) chemistry exam questions. Finds that students in both universities…

Examines the value of ignorance questions, or "a question stimulated by class material but not directly related to it," in ten different courses using student evaluations of this technique and their scores on written examination questions. Reveals that students find writing ignorance questions valuable. (CMK)

Describes the experiences of four veteran teachers who came to teach in a residential high school for gifted adolescents and participated in peer coaching, study groups, and mentoring. This faculty development exposed them to advanced content and higher order thinking strategies, which were the very same skills they were encouraged to use to…

Contrary to assumptions about aversive effects of competition on achievement motivation, in this study young people saw academic contests as fair. When participants completed structural interviews on fair ways to organize science contests and on differentiation of skill and luck, age-related trends in their conceptions of procedural justice were…

Considers whether the current transformation of higher education has its roots in medieval universities. Topics include corporate and virtual universities; the adaptation of new technologies, especially the Internet; affordability; the development of critical thinking skills; and students as customers. (LRW)

Discusses the development of information and communications technology (ICT) in education in Brunei Darussalam, noting the need to invest in research and monitoring, discussing local research, and examining research elsewhere that may be appropriate in Brunei Darussalam. Illustrates how the ongoing development of thoughtful schools could…

Off-line metacognition (prediction and evaluation) was assessed in 437 children (grades 2-3) with or without learning disabilities. Off-line metacognitive scores of children with reading disabilities were comparable to those of age-matched typical peers. Significantly lower prediction and evaluation scores were found for children with specific or…

Describes software created for improving higher order interpretation skills that focuses on anaphoric resolutions and backward inferences, skills particularly important for developing reading skills in Japanese because of the language's tendency to omit referents if they can be reconstructed from the text. (Author/VWL)

Explores the ideas and reasoning students use to make a collaborative environmental management decision. Compares students' discussions with scientists' guidelines for making environmental management decisions. Finds that whereas across groups students touched on all of the themes that scientists consider to be important for making environmental…

Models of self-regulated learning hypothesize that learners selectively match study tactics to varying tasks and diverse goals. In this study, students rated the frequency with which they applied 26 study tactics, used 20 textbook features and other resources, and adopted 30 goals for studying. Findings indicate students' reports of…

A study examined theory of mind acquisition in 34 children (ages 5- 10) with deafness using four traditional false-belief tasks. Results indicate the age of the child was strongly related to theory of mind development and that the children were delayed by approximately 3 years in this cognitive developmental milestone. (Contains references.)…

Examines both theoretical and practical perspectives on conceptual exchange--exchanging a student's entrenched view on a scientific topic for one based on actual scientific perspective. Endorses the conceptual-mediation model based on interference theory for changing an established view. (AIM)

Activation of change processes in cognitive capacity of 71 institutionalized adults with mental retardation in four age groups was investigated after the Instrumental Enrichment Program. The initial and final test scores of adults with Down syndrome were lower than those of adults with other forms of mental retardation. (Contains extensive…

Uses data from the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) to determine the extent of Israeli students' ability to give scientific explanations of events in earth, life, and physical science. Finds student explanations to be generally simple, often incomplete, and often consisting only of descriptive or teleological explanations.…

Examines research on the relationship of critical thinking to culture, presenting theoretical arguments on critical thinking, discussing current theories of intelligence, describing Western versus non-Western cultures, offering implications for teachers, and arguing that critical thinking is an activity found in all peoples regardless of cultural…