Presents examples where mathematical and physical reasoning complement each other in interpreting and analyzing some basic science concepts using proof by contradiction and contrapositive. Examples involve the rotation of the moon, the stability of electrons and protons, the electron's orbit about the nucleus, and the earth's liquid core. (MDH)

This paper discusses a multicomponent approach to assessment of productive thinking with gifted students. It presents a model of productive thinking encompassing creative and critical thinking, problem solving, and decision making. Emphasis is on planning/profiling, instruction, evaluation, and documentation. Profiling, performance assessment,…

It is proposed that clinical decision making in pharmacy should integrate principles of pharmacoepidemiology, economics, and medical decision making, and that case studies provide an opportunity to use these principles in probabilistic reasoning, thereby improving self-learning, critical thinking, and therapeutic and monitoring skills. Steps in…

The study reported here assessed the analogical reasoning ability of gifted young children and examined the influence of gender, socioeconomic status, and ethnicity on that ability. Only the effect of ethnicity was found to be significant. The mean difference in analogical reasoning reflected performance differences between the white and Hispanic…

Styles of thinking and learning are relevant for understanding and testing foreign-language aptitude. This article emphasizes one particular theory of styles, the theory of self-government, and discusses the nature of styles, gives some history of the concept of styles, describes styles in theory, describes measures of styles, and discusses the…

Describes a teaching partnership between a librarian and a faculty member at Arizona State University West that uses contemporary learning and composition theory to integrate research and writing in an American Studies course. Topics include teaching critical thinking skills, the influence of social constructionists, and research goals. (LRW)

Examines research on how technology can be used to support innovative teaching. Highlights focus on student interests and increased student participation, technology-supported cooperative learning, staff development, alternate forms of testing and emphasis on higher level thinking skills, and the importance of collaborative research in real-world…

Features five activities to nurture "number sense," promote practice in mental calculations, and promote student self-confidence in mathmatical operations. These are "hands-off" exercises that are preparatory to calculator and computer use for math. (ET)

Several CD-ROM products are being developed in Hawaii as part of MIDAS (Multimedia Industry for the Development of Academic Software), which helps promote technology in the classroom. The article examines how technology provides opportunities for students to develop higher thinking and problem-solving skills. (SM)

Analyzes differences in students' performance on algorithmic, lower-order cognitive skills (LOCS), and conceptual exam questions and the correlations between their achievements on these categories across different populations.Reports that the highest scores were obtained for the algorithmic questions, the lowest for the conceptual questions, and…

Describes activities at the Frost Lake (Minnesota) Magnet School of Technology that relate to global concepts including interdependence, economics, and cultural change. Projects in sixth-grade and second-grade classes are explained, and benefits of an integrated approach are discussed, including student motivation and the use of higher order…

Describes the design of a computer-based problem-solving tool for teaching abstraction and classification to elementary school students. The task involves reasoning with attribute blocks. The software keeps a detailed trace of the student's actions, allowing teachers to provide intelligent feedback to the student. Results of a pilot study of the…

Critical and creative thinking lessons were designed and presented to 20 biology students in a rural high school. Student attitudes toward critical thinking activities improved significantly after activities involving experimentation, discrepant events, student questioning, ethical dilemmas, and divergent and critical thinking. Includes examples…

Examined inconsistencies in secondary school students' reasoning about the probability concept of equally likely events. Results of two studies suggest that the number of students who understand the concept of independence is much lower than the latest National Assessment of Educational Progress results indicate. (Contains 22 references.) (MDH)

Three experiments using university students explored what constitutes an event and what determines its boundaries. Results supported the hypothesis that sequences of stimuli repeating in different contexts are cut out to become cognitive entities ("things" with a beginning and an end) in their own right. Results suggest that the…