Introduces a theme issue focusing on teaching critical thinking through college psychology courses. Defines critical thinking and asserts that "learning to think" has been called the central purpose of education. Refers to the Goals 2000 program and its emphasis on thinking skills. (CFR)

Interviews with 72 mixed ability students, aged 7 to 12, about arithmetic problem-solving strategies, indicated that the preference between procedural and deductive strategies becomes a divergent reality across ability levels. Among the conclusions is that more able children tend to be doing a qualitatively different sort of mathematics than their…

Described are activities within extended problem-solving settings which allow middle school mathematics students, particularly at-risk students, to determine applications for a wide range of mathematical processes and concepts. Emphasis is on reality-based projects which often require more than one step as preparation for future consumer…

In an attempt to bridge the perceived distinction between internalized conceptions of mathematics and their external representations, this discussion treats mathematics both as an individual, constructive activity and as a communal, social practice. It is argued that this approach might transcend the tripartite scheme of teacher, student, and…

Suggests that educational reform efforts, such as the back-to-basics movement, leave art educators wondering whether visual arts instruction will survive the reforms. Argues that the three Rs are insufficient for a balanced education. Asserts that the arts foster both affective and cognitive development. (KM)

Presents a worksheet on graph paper that allows students to determine the perpendicular bisectors of given segments by folding the paper. Students then determine the slopes of the perpendicular bisectors and use inductive thinking to discover the relationship between the slopes of perpendicular lines. (MDH)

Discusses the first session and events from other sessions of a mathematics circle consisting of the author and four preschool children. Presents discussions that ensued with the children when asked to solve problems related to Piaget's stages of cognitive development. (MDH)

Describes an activity in which students utilize mathematical communication and reasoning skills to develop a class constitution. Students brainstorm rules for their classroom in cooperative-learning groups, classify them into categories, and justify their decision to the class. (MDH)

An attempt was made to improve the argumentation skills and scientific thinking skills of 24 Swedish college students through argumentative on-line (computer-mediated) studying. Comparison with about 200 students studying in traditional ways reveals better learning outcomes for the traditional group but better argumentation by the on-line group.…

Researchers investigated the effects of metacognitive mathematics instruction on low-ability, mainly Hispanic, sixth graders. Lack of linguistic, strategic, and procedural knowledge was the major source of errors in solving problems. Pre- and posttesting indicated students receiving metacognitive instruction progressed as problem solvers and…

Presents contributions by six mathematics teachers responding to the question: "How has the history of mathematics mattered to me in my mathematics teaching?" Answers touch the topics of how and why, how benefits are accrued, use of original texts, integration into core curriculum courses, and pitfalls of history. (MDH)

Reports a study of 913 Israeli students in grades 7-12 from randomly chosen heterogeneous homeroom classes to investigate students' Piagetian cognitive levels using a video-based test. Results indicate that less than 50 percent of high school students have mastered formal operational reasoning. (MDH)

The Nijenrode University (Netherlands) business administration curriculum was revised to teach skills for knowledge application alongside discipline-specific knowledge. The problem, conditions needing to be met to solve the problem, resulting curriculum goals, new curriculum design, and expectations based on the new model are discussed. (MSE)

To illustrate the joint intervention of sociocognitive conflict and social marking in cognitive processes, 160 children (87 males and 73 females) in Geneva (Switzerland), with an average age of 6.5 years completed conservation of number and conservation of liquids tasks. Conflict and social marking are important in the acquisition of operational…

Describes the development of an approach to reading comprehension by teaching 9- and 10-year-old language-disabled and learning-disabled children to think about their thinking. The juxtaposition of reading books and watching videos of the same stories stimulates these children to process written information into a sequence that communicates…