Describes a general education course addressing the linguistic and logical aspects of the language of mathematics which is intended to develop students' abilities to read mathematics, express mathematical thoughts clearly, reason logically, and grasp the nature of proof. Students improved their algebraic procedural skills and attitudes toward…

In 2 experiments involving a total of 43 college students, adages (relational metaphors) were found to facilitate processing of general ideas and higher-order principles. The higher the degree of structural relations embedded in the titles of passages, the greater the recall and accessibility of system-related ideas. (SLD)

Describes the revised social studies curriculum at Wausau West High School (Wisconsin). Discusses interdisciplinary cooperation among teachers, team teaching, and emphasis on higher order thinking skills. Contends that flexible scheduling and varying class size contribute to the program's effectiveness. (CFR)

Models of working memory were compared in 2 experiments as means of explaining variance in the comprehension of 95 skilled and 80 learning-disabled readers from grades 4 through 7. Results suggest that learning-disabled children's working memory problems are functionally related to higher order processes and not memory alone. (SLD)

Describes a dispositional conception of thinking, presenting a view of what good thinking dispositions look like and what they are made of. The article compares different models of teaching (teaching as transmission and as enculturation) and examines the extent to which they provide adequate guidelines for teaching thinking dispositions. (SM)

Presents partial results from an ongoing Japanese study of teachers' practical thinking styles designed to clarify their practical epistemology. Five major findings of practical thinking styles are discussed, and the implications for teacher education in Japan are considered. (GLR)

Studied age trends in solving correlational problems involving over 2 continuous variables 100 Canadian students in grades 5, 7, 9, and 11 and a postgraduate college preparatory year; 278 seventh graders; and 120 tenth graders in 3 experiments. Correlational reasoning skills increased with age and improved through instruction. (SLD)

Describes self-regulatory processes that promote achievement in the basic skills of reading (clarifying purpose, understanding meanings, drawing inferences, looking for relationships, reformulating text) and mathematical problem solving (clarifying problem goals, understanding concepts, applying knowledge, monitoring progress). Experiences in…

Investigated whether preschoolers had acquired event knowledge schemata, and the impact of an inductive reasoning training program on knowledge transfer in story recall tasks. Found that inductive reasoning training led to knowledge transfer in kindergartners but had only minor influence on prekindergartners. (Author/KB)

Uses three computer software programs to help students develop algebraic reasoning. Programs include spreadsheets, Logo programming language, and Teasers by Tobbs. (ASK)

Researchers have found three consistent effects of stressing letter or number grades. Grades reduce students' interest in learning, preference for challenging tasks, and thinking quality. Grades distort curriculum, waste time, encourage cheating, and spoil interpersonal relationships. Invisible grading is a compromise. Authentic assessment opens…

Describes "FLIP IT," a process developed to help a seventh-grade class succeed at information problem solving by analyzing and defining the research process. Explains the mnemonic, FLIP IT, as focusing on the topic, locating appropriate resources, investigating and implementing the information, and producing results while using intelligent…

Examines the use of Vygotskian theory in early-childhood programs, focusing on how educators provide a medium of content and a means of communication allowing the child the opportunity to interact. Explains the concepts of scaffolding, the zone of proximal development, and inner speech. Delineates steps for guiding techniques to give language to…

Presents a theory of learning in science based on students deriving conceptual linkages among multiple models which represent physical phenomena at different levels of abstraction. Finds that high school students who were exposed to derivational links among three models for basic electricity performed better when solving both qualitative and…

Examines the extent and nature of Year 10 students' model-based reasoning in a laboratory investigation that considered the influence of six factors on electrical resistance. Finds that spontaneous use of the electron-drift model of metals in explanations increased over the duration of the task, but the explanations were restricted to mainly…