Lack of student use of critical thinking operations can lead to faulty argumentation in discussing societal issues. Presents 12 common fallacies in student argumentation and discusses their implications for science education. (Contains 51 references.) (MDH)

Describes a science department's evaluation of the way teachers use questions in the teaching of science. Explains how the evaluation is organized and discusses what is revealed about the art of asking questions and encouraging students to do the same. (DDR)

Outlines the preferred learning styles of students studying second languages, offering suggestions for their application in second-language classrooms. The paper describes the right-brain/left-brain theory and how the two brain hemispheres are involved in learning; presents four classroom strategies (diversification, contextualization,…

Examined deductive reasoning in 120 adolescents and relationship of parental style and test anxiety to reasoning performance. Found that tenth and twelfth graders demonstrated more advanced reasoning than sixth graders. Authoritative parenting was related to more advanced reasoning performance and lower test anxiety than nonauthoritative…

Summarizes recent findings of empirical research in science education concerning students with disabilities. Discusses learning characteristics of disabled students, effective instructional strategies including text-based interventions and inquiry-oriented interventions, and inclusion practices. Contains 70 references. (WRM)

Relates Carol Gilligan's two perspectives on moral reasoning (care and justice) to discussions in service learning circles concerning the relationship between charity and social change as orientations of service and service-learning and to the nature of "self." The discussion informs the questions of what constitutes "mature"…

Examines how individual differences in epistemological beliefs, strength of beliefs, and need for cognition affected the written conclusions that 11th graders constructed after reading a passage presenting arguments opposing and supporting gun control. (SR)

Investigated teachers' declarative metacognitive knowledge of higher-order thinking skills in the context of an inservice project designed to foster higher-order thinking in junior high school science classes. The study found that teachers' intuitive knowledge of metacognition of thinking skills was unsatisfactory for the purpose of teaching…

Uses excerpts from an interview of two faculty members at Georgia Perimeter College to underline the importance of a liberal arts foundation for workforce preparation in a world of technological advances. Addresses the significance of thinking skills and understanding cultural values and ideas. (AMA)

Analyzes undergraduate general-chemistry laboratory manuals (n=10) and identifies illustrative verbs representative of the types of cognitive skills given in Bloom's Taxonomy. Finds that, although the majority of the manuals are similar in their lack of promoting higher-order cognition, a few newer manuals possess the requisite activities for…

Describes a study that explores the relationship between affective variables and mathematics achievement among high-risk students enrolled in developmental-mathematics courses. Finds that time taken from traditional instruction in college algebra to encourage persistence and problem-solving skills enhances spatial visualization, promotes…

Draws on research/development projects aimed at raising achievement through teaching thinking to explore core concepts of thinking skills and learning. Argues that educators need to move from the idea of developing the thinking child to creating powerful learning environments, thinking classroom, schools, and communities. Discusses approaches to…

Reports the existence of patterns of reasoning that are common to students' conceptions in different areas of mechanics. Finds that the common frameworks between different ideas have a generality level that lies between Piaget's stage theory and the approach of alternative conceptions. Contains 30 references. (Author/WRM)

Explores African students' use of traditional Sotho cultural metaphoric reasoning in classifying everyday situations as "hot" or "cold" in order to document the extent to which such metaphoric reasoning is related to science misconceptions of heating. Finds that university students were able to distinguish between types of…

A study investigated whether rotating three-dimensional objects using virtual reality would affect flexible thinking in 14 children (ages 8-11) with hearing impairments. Children played virtual 3-D Tetris individually, 15 minutes once weekly over 3 months. Before-and-after testing showed significantly improved flexible thinking in the experimental…