There is a common belief that people have limited mental capabilities in that they are either good at English or mathematics, but not both. There is also a myth that men are naturally good at math, while women are not. But there are many good mathematicians who also write well. Also, good students appear to be good students, regardless of the…

This book presents a collection of motivating, independent activities that involve animals and plants for use in developing the research skills of students in grades 2-6. Projects included in the book cover various levels of difficulty and are designed to promote higher-level thinking skills. Research components included in the activities in the…

Items in the North Central Regional Educational Laboratory's (NCREL) School Development Library series are multimedia packages consisting of print, video, audio, and CD-ROM resources designed to support educators in their efforts to improve classroom instruction. This particular set consists of a 40-minute video and a printed booklet focusing on…

The four reports contained in this document examine the effects of the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), which entered the lives of many children in the United States in 1986. The first report discusses a study of children's interaction with the game hardware. The study of fourth- and fifth-grade students indicated that children's interaction…

The primary purpose of this study was to understand what happens when some aspects of the constructivist approach, namely prediction, explanation, student-centered, and teacher-centered discussions, are applied to science teaching. The study involved 363 junior high school students in Taiwan. It combined the effectiveness of four alternative…

This book is divided into eight sections. Section One, "A New Look at Mathematics: Rationale and Strategies for Reforming Mathematics", includes: An Overview of Mathematics Reform; Management for Computation Skills; Math Strategies for Individualized or Small Group Instruction; Math Strands Planning Activity; and Performance Assessment. Section…

Although feminist perspectives about research have not been presented in a unified paradigm, feminist theory has helped to expose and demystify the empirical assumption of objectivity as the only way to truth in research. The feminist perspective in research represents alternate, non-oppressive formulations of what constitutes meaningful and valid…

Reuven Feuerstein's theory of Mediated Learning Experience was developed to explain individuals' different propensities for learning by linking those differences to an individual's exposure--through specific experiences--to his or her own culture, irrespective of its nature or level of conceptualization, technology, or institutionalized education.…

This manual was developed in response to teachers' requests for help in maintaining focus and resolving questions and concerns arising out of the Questioning and Understanding to Improve Learning and Thinking (QUILT) program. The introduction describes collegial investigation as a structural process that groups can use to examine problems, issues,…

This resource book is intended to help teachers and schools enhance their teaching of thinking, and to make their teaching of thinking skills more deliberate, explicit, and an integral part of the school curricula. It challenges all educators to reflect on their involvement in teaching for thinking, teaching of thinking, and teaching about…

A Piagetian-based, systematic instructional theory developed by A. E. Lawson was used as a reasoning model in a 12th-grade English course at Grand Island Senior High in Grand Island, Nebraska, from 1982 to 1991. The thinking patterns that comprised the hypothetical-deductive stage of human intellectual development used in the course were…

Perhaps the most dramatic failure in postsecondary education has been in the teaching of mathematical skills. The different functions of the right and left hemispheres of the brain require different approaches to education. Due to their emphasis on language and verbal processing, schools have failed to give adequate stimulation to the right side…

On the premise that a variety of reading and writing activities will help students develop their thinking skills, this paper offers seven class activities intended to encourage the development of formal and advanced thinking in junior and senior high school students. The activities, intended as basic activities which teachers can adapt to their…

Educational practices often concentrate on rote knowledge of facts while neglecting problem solving skills. When students are encouraged to think critically, analyze, and question they are far better prepared to deal with the future. Classroom debate can be an effective method in all subject areas to achieve this end, helping the student to move…

This guide is part of a program designed to teach both cognitive skills (thinking skills) and cognitive strategies (thinking procedures) necessary for productive problem solving, mindful decision making, and creative ideation by all students in kindergarten through grade 12 settings. The program is a comprehensive staff development model in which…