A study investigated the effectiveness of a method for teaching strategies to students in order to increase their levels of reading comprehension. The targeted population consisted of first-grade students from three schools located in lower- to middle-socioeconomic neighborhoods in Rockford, Illinois. The problem of below grade level reading…

A multiple choice test item is identified as flawed if it has no single best answer. In spite of extensive quality control procedures, the administration of flawed items to test-takers is inevitable. Common strategies for dealing with flawed items in conventional testing, grounded in the principle of fairness to test-takers, are reexamined in the…

The educational problem that this paper addresses is how to summarize the constructivist framework reflected in student-centered learning approaches, in a way that provides educators with manageable guidelines for transforming classrooms into computer-supported learning environments. Fourteen values that summarize the constructivist framework are…

A practicum was designed to help high school students become more creative by encouraging them to be audacious, divergent thinkers capable of entertaining several contradictory ideas simultaneously. Tolerating paradox and ambiguity are vital components in developing creativity. These goals were achieved by developing a nurturing, caring, accepting…

The Thinking/Learning System is designed to provide students at all educational levels with learning experiences based on conceptual frameworks which transcend the limitations of content. The system was developed around four specific thinking skills (information gathering, critical thinking, decision making, and creative thinking) that are…

Students better understand problem solving when the basis for the problems are real-life situations. This book, geared for grades 4-8, offers multi-step, real-life problems to encourage students to think flexibly, creatively, and analytically about problem solving. It includes ideas for setting up a problem-solving classroom and assessment…

In designing a curriculum for a college Fine Arts course, the author has developed types of assignments which require his freshman students to engage in critical and conceptual thinking rather than in rote repetition of information. The assignments are based on key concepts in the fields of music and art. Textbooks are considered only one among…

In response to the difficulties of many masters degree students, this on-going project aimed, first, to identify cognitive and metacognitive skills needed for masters level study; second, to develop an instrument to determine students' readiness for masters level work; and, third, to design bridge courses to prepare prospective students. An…

As part of Alberta Education's (Canada) broadened assessment initiatives, a sample of 693 Grade 3 students from across the province participated in the Mathematics Performance-based Assessment, 1994. This activity-based assessment, using picture books and manipulatives, was developed by Grade 3 teachers to assess a broad range of skills not easily…

Processes involved in the acquisition of cognitive skills were studied through an investigation of the efficacy of initially encoding knowledge of a cognitive skill in either declarative or procedural form. Subjects were 80 university students. The cognitive skill, learning the steps to program a simulated video cassette recorder (VCR), was taught…

This report describes a study that examined changes in literacy engagement during one year of Concept-Oriented Reading Instruction (CORI), a new approach to teaching reading, writing, and science. Literacy engagement was defined as the integration of intrinsic motivations, cognitive strategies, and conceptual learning from text. To promote…

This book published in 1987 provides open-ended activities to extend the imagination and creativity of students and encourage them to examine their feelings and values. Williams' model of cognitive-intellective and affective-feeling domains are addressed. Nearly 60 pages of exercises focus on the historical, the scientific, the mysterious, the…

A study was conducted to determine whether competently reasoning clinicians (clinical instructors in medical instruction) could identify reasons competently reasoning students would eliminate distractors, and explain how students would reason to select the keyed response when solving multiple-choice items. The think-aloud protocols of clinicians…

Pupils learn to read in different ways with the use of diverse procedures. Many approaches in teaching reading have been used in the last 30 years and are still widely used, such as basal reading approaches; individualized reading using library books; strong phonics emphasis for young learners; whole language approaches; and experience charts.…

This curriculum unit describes geothermal energy in the context of the world's energy needs. It addresses renewable and nonrenewable energy sources with an in-depth study of geothermal energy--its geology, its history, and its many uses. Included are integrated activities involving science, as well as math, social studies, and language arts.…