Arguing that picture books have much to offer students in the upper grades (including middle school and even high school students), this book discusses using picture books to stimulate students' thinking in a variety of topic areas. Chapter 1, Using Picture Books in the Middle School To Stimulate Thinking, introduces the topic of using picture…

Describes the Critical Issues Forum, a multidisciplinary program designed to encompass computer technology, current global issues, and effective teaching and learning practices. Features open-ended, collaborative activities that deal with current, real-world issues. Discusses analysis of the issues and integrating technology. (JRH)

Argues that with a little creativity and some scrounged materials, social studies teachers can construct interesting games and activities. Provides examples of games and a lesson plan teaching responsibility through a group construction. Profiles an instructional materials center that collects and distributes donated materials. (MJP)

Presents ways to stimulate teachers to try several techniques for having students write their own problems and verify their meanings with others to become effective mathematics problem solvers. These techniques include sharing self-generated problems in a Mathematician's Circle and publishing problems on worksheets. (PVD)

Describes typical student strategies for counting cubes in cube buildings and explains why these problems are difficult for students. Suggests instructional tasks that can help students develop more powerful ways of thinking about such problems. Lists two action research ideas related to this issue. (ASK)

Presents a three-year longitudinal study investigating the development of children's (n=82) understanding of multidigit number concepts and operations in grades one through three by using interview processes. Provides an existence proof that children can invent strategies for adding and subtracting and illustrates both what that invention affords…

Two experiments examined the relationship between reasoning skills, student grade, ability, and knowledge levels. Findings were interpreted in terms of a two-component model: a knowledge-experiential component and the conventions of reasoning. Results indicated that consideration of the relation of reasoning to learning and to instruction…

Details five standards, from preschool through middle school, present in successful programs for students at risk of academic failure: joint productive activity, language and literacy across the curriculum, contextualization, challenging activities, and instructional conversation. Compares NAEYC's developmentally appropriate practices to the…

Discusses studies that investigated the impact of the Web on student learning and compared Web-based with traditional courses. Focuses on individual differences, including gender differences and generational differences; instructional design, including interaction and electronic learning communities; and skills that are enhanced by online…

Argues that learners and workers must be willing, not just able, to make informed, skilled, and fair-minded judgments as they solve problems, make decisions, and engage in professional practice. Makes recommendations for nurturing thinking and reflective problem solving in both classroom and workplace, including cultivation of a culture and…

Describes new practices in preservice mathematics education at Russia State Pedagogical University. The program offers mathematics teachers a deeper understanding of the mathematics of school curricula and how it fits within the mathematics discipline. It teaches them alternative instructional strategies beyond mere lecture so they can meet…

Contrasted effects of Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) program to those of Chapter 1 programs on fourth and fifth graders' reading achievement, self-concept, and higher-order thinking skills. Found that HOTS is more effective in raising self-concept and some higher-order thinking skills in fifth grade and after two years of treatment, with…

Maintains that the nature, aims, and processes of architecture parallel those of education. Discusses the interconnections between the disciplines and suggests that architecture is an effective way of integrating art education into the K-12 curriculum. Recommends an approach to architecture emphasizing the humanist and inclusive aspects over the…

Describes a program of summer study in Nepal that exposes students to a multicultural and international perspective. Examines the content, goals, and objectives of the program. The objectives include active learning, structuring learning communities, and developing higher-order thinking skills. Provides suggestions for setting up similar programs.…

Reports on the results of an experiment testing 58 elementary school students tasked with chronologically ordering a set of nine historical pictures and thinking aloud about their efforts. Provides increased evidence regarding the kind and sources of children's historical knowledge and how they deploy that knowledge. (MJP)