Critiques the views of E.D. Hirsch, highlighting limitations of his book, "The Schools We Need and Why We Don't Have Them." The paper acknowledges Hirsch's influence on public opinion about school reform, but details flaws and errors Hirsch makes, asking foundational scholars in teacher education to better prepare students to respond to…

Two types of personalized instruction, interaction and thoughtfulness, transcend the behavioral paradigm to include experiences building on individual student differences. Teachers can facilitate learners' progress from cognitive skill development to mastery and real-life problem solving by stressing experiential and inquiry learning, independent…

Describes the use of a multi-part journal format, known as the synthesis journal, in academic assistance composition classes. The journal promotes students' abilities to synthesize ideas from four major sources--text, lecture, class discussion, and personal experience--and encourages higher-order thinking skills without shifting attention from the…

Discusses how English/language-arts teachers can actively teach students to use a socially critical lens for thinking. Considers three modes of teaching this. Discusses how, once students have a least 10 notebook entries focused on social issues, "noticings," and questions, they should be able to reread their notebooks for themes that have…

One Maryland school district incorporated conflict-resolution strategies with learning opportunities, infusing it into the regular K-12 curriculum. Teacher workshops produced seven conflict-resolution tools: brainstorming, questioning, active listening, conceptual thinking, role playing, triggering, and problem solving. Teachers received training,…

Highlights how single mothers and single fathers differ in ways that often predate their family structure, but suggests that there is little evidence that offspring are better off or develop particular characteristics in one household versus the other. Suggests that theorists have overemphasized the role of parents' sex in youths' development.…

Compared the "on-line" (real time, ongoing internal representation) understanding of ongoing social events of boys with and without attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Found that younger children and those with ADHD showed less integrated on-line representations, accounting for poor recall and reasoning. (Author/KB)

Presents an interdisciplinary thematic unit designed for eleventh graders that uses selected chapters of "The Martian Chronicles" to teach frontier history. Maintains that Bradbury's novel enriches students' understanding of the frontier because it compares the interactions between Native inhabitants of Mars and Earthlings to the…

Introduces a software package available for the climatology curriculum that determines possible climatic events according to a long-term climate history. Describes the integration of the software into the curriculum and presents examples of active learning. (Contains 19 references.) (YDS)

Describes an early field experience program designed to help student teachers develop and enhance reflective thinking skills and value reflections and to model collaborative learning. Data from observations, interviews, and journals indicated that the program enabled student teachers to grapple more effectively with the complexities of the…

Outlines an approach for post-secondary educators to improve the quality of electronic discussion groups. Using a template of macros constructed in Microsoft Word, the authors explain a system of coding called cognotes and discuss an evaluation method where higher order critical thinking skills are given greater value toward higher grades.…

Describes one university's Senior Festival, in which seniors in the Early Childhood and Elementary Education program document their progress by displaying and sharing their work with faculty and students. The Festival develops students' collaboration and critical thinking skills and celebrates accomplishments meaningfully. This improves school…

Reports on two studies. The first, a brain-imaging study evaluating brain-processing differences between high- and low- performing middle-school students attempting a spatial visualization task, establishes the connection between brain-processing patterns and task-learning efficiency. The second study, involving 33 women graduate education majors,…

Discusses teacher confession as a pedagogical tool that can prepare teachers for the reality of diversity, arguing that confession is a necessary precondition to preparing present and future teachers to attempt anything critical in their classroom. The paper summarizes literature on critical pedagogy, distinguishes between personal and…

Diverse teacher educators met regularly to discuss their beliefs about educational philosophy, teacher education, constructivist pedagogy, and authentic assessment. Participants made reflections, then listened to constructive criticism by other group members. Processes they used to explore their thinking about teaching practice and student…