Critical thinking involves both intellectual skills and the critical spirit and the critical spirit in turn encompasses certain dispositions of mind--that is, certain attitudes or tendencies--that motivate, or "animate" a person to think. Becoming a critical thinker involves acquiring both the critical thinking skills and the readiness,…

Based on the premise that English and language arts curricula should be developed by committed teachers, this book is designed to help teachers use computers in a seamless way. Focusing on what and how students learn, the book is a practical and progressive guide, showing how technology can be infused into the English/language arts curriculum…

This document is made up of materials supporting a presentation about a program designed to encourage freshman and sophomore high school mathematics students to use the school library to research famous mathematicians. The handouts that compose the document are: (1) a description of the assignment, "Conversations with Mathematicians"; (2) a list…

Related to the earlier ACT production system theory, this book's basic goal is to present evidence for the psychological reality of a production system model of mind. Distinguished from the original theory in three ways, this volume uses previous rational analyses to improve upon that theory and extend its scope. It also relates the theory to new…

This book is intended to help teachers and college students promote more effective learning through development of critical thinking and reflective learning skills. Part 1 is about theory; it consists of five chapters, which include an overview of the book's themes as well as discussions of learning philosophies and models, learning theories, the…

Chemistry Quickies is not a textbook, but it can be used as a supplement to chemistry textbooks because it presents a questioning approach to critical thinking and critical reading. Since the book was arranged for daily sequence without dependence on topic grouping, students acquaint themselves with their textbooks through deliberate exploration…

The North Carolina Testing Program is based on the assessment of higher level skills, the skills required to solve problems and make informed choices and decisions. This guide explains the end-of-course tests that are a component of the Testing Program and provides information to interpret them. The end-of-course tests for high school students are…

This guide presents a list of language skills that all students should know and be able to do at each grade level from kindergarten through sixth grade, as determined by the Idaho State Board of Education. It presents, grade by grade, a list of target skills and sample assessment methods. The guide also includes columns identifying three processes…

This manual is intended to give novice and veteran teachers a basis for inquiry within their classrooms. The following sections are intended to guide the reader through an introduction to practicing inquiry within the classroom: Philosophical Overview, Historical Overview, Use in the Classroom, How to Establish Inquiry in Your Classroom, and…

For years many educators have advocated school conditions that maximize human intellectual and creative potential, yet today's schools can be intellectually depressing. After identifying and describing factors that influence teachers' attitudes and experiences in education, this document explores three school climate conditions that facilitate the…

In this book, a professional historian provides a personal narrative of how he thinks about teaching history. While the historian's experience seems, at first glance, to be removed from that of secondary teachers, it is to such teachers that his account is directed. The historian stresses that the essential questions about teaching history are the…

A study was conducted in Israel to determine effects of external similarity in problem structure on students' responses. Fifty students from each of the 7th, 8th, 10th, and 12th grade levels were presented with three problems involving successive divisions that were similar in structure. The problems asked separately whether the processes of…

A model for fostering educational administration students' reflective thinking skills is presented in this paper. Based on a cognitive psychological framework, the reflection model is applied to a doctoral program in educational administration. Methodology involved analysis of 10 doctoral students' journals, which were year-long records of…

This paper explores the concept of critical thinking as it applies to school administrators and offers ideas for incorporating it into their operative skills. Following a review of pertinent literature, recommendations are made to: (1) develop an assessment process in educational administration programs to ensure that future school leaders have a…

This report describes a methodology for increasing the validity and reliability of inferences made about the problem-solving ability of science students that is based on performance on different kinds of tests. The generalizable cognitive components of problem solving that might be targeted by assessment are described, and specifications are…