Disputing Allan Bloom's ("Closing of the American Mind") conviction that the fading of literary culture and growing attachment to rock music signals the decline of American civilization, discussion examines how literature, rock music, film, and critical reflection can be used to engage students intellectually without relinquishing either…

Builds a case for a careful reexamination of what it means to teach students to think critically. Briefly summarizes three noteworthy studies of higher-order thinking programs and discusses some of their fallacious assumptions. Proposes a more realistic and attainable approach to higher order thinking titled "reflective judgment." (MJP)

Contends that two standard approaches to assessing coaching expertise (behavioral assessment and assessment of coaches' knowledge base) are flawed because they cannot adequately improve coach development. The paper reviews literature from other areas of cognitive psychology that offer more promising directions and makes recommendations for…

Four institutionalized adults with mild mental retardation were taught to obtain information regarding their living preferences during tours of community group homes, to report the information to their social workers, and to evaluate the homes. All four participants increased these skills, indicating their ability to participate in such major…

Investigated middle school students' computer tool use in managing and manipulating Internet-based hypermedia resources, hypothesizing that tools would let students process hypermedia resources at higher levels to solve complex, open-ended questions. Tools alone did not help students manage hypermedia information for solving these problems.…

Suggests that there are three ways of taking in information: internalizing inert information, forming activated ignorance, or achieving activated knowledge. Explains that only activated knowledge leads the learner, by implication, to more knowledge, and that seeking the logic of things can lead to discovery of activated knowledge. (NB)

This study followed six medical students through first semester to understand how they self-regulated learning. The study, using a situated research strategy, resulted in a grounded theory built around the central phenomenon of stance. In short, learners illustrated different types of stances that influence their perceptions of themselves and the…

Compares the effectiveness of three classes teaching ethical reasoning to high school students. The three classes were an introductory ethics class, a blended economics-ethics class, and a role-model ethics class taught by graduate students. Tests measured the ways students reason, feel, and act with regard to ethical-normative issues. (MJP)

Examined the effect of culturally relevant narratives and strategically constructed questions on the reading enjoyment and comprehension of minority students. Data from a study of urban middle school students indicated that weak readers were not necessarily weak thinkers. When afforded the opportunity through culturally congruent literature and…

Examines ways in which classroom practices create a press for conceptual mathematical thinking and how teachers can promote student participation in a classroom community where conceptual understandings are valued and developed. Details four important sociomathematical norms characterizing a high press for conceptual thinking. Concludes that a…

Foreign language instruction is known to develop better critical thinking skills in children. Therefore, the teaching of foreign languages should be promoted so that "all" students may attain better creative, divergent, critical, and analytical thinking skills. Research done in past years on cooperative learning models has consistently shown that…

It is perhaps one of the best-kept secrets in educating gifted high school youth, and yet for 45 years, Hugh O'Brian Youth Leadership (HOBY) has been going strong, "Motivating Tomorrow's Leaders Today." After spending nine inspirational days in 1958 with Albert Schweitzer (Nobel Prize physician and philosopher) at his clinic in the African jungle,…

Educators agree that a student can display gifted behavior and learning disabilities (GLD) simultaneously. Some of these students thrive when exploring advanced level investigative projects which require higher order thinking skills (HOTS) and creation of an original product. This article presents a GLD case story as an example of successful…

This article reports the development and application of two instruments for assessing science teachers' pedagogical knowledge in the context of teaching higher-order thinking: a Likert-type research instrument, and an instrument that analyzes classroom observations. The rationale for developing these instruments and their main categories is…

Over the past four years, educators and researchers from the University of Connecticut have worked with urban high-poverty schools to implement an alternative reading instruction program called the Schoolwide Enrichment Model in Reading (SEM-R). Based on Renzulli's Enrichment Triad Model, the SEM-R works through planned enrichment experiences to…