This action research project implemented and evaluated an intervention for improving student engagement in the learning process. The targeted population consisted of first, third, and fifth grade students in a small, traditional, middle class community, located in central Illinois. Evidence of non-engaged behaviors were documented from teacher…

Arizona's comprehensive health education standards begins with a health rationale for each standard, then details the seven standards: (1) students comprehend concepts related to health promotion and disease prevention; (2) students demonstrate the ability to access accurate health information; (3) students demonstrate the ability to practice…

During the 2002-03 school year, one Philadelphia fifth grade class developed a core curriculum designed to teach every child the 21st century basic skills: the ability to think, learn, and create. This effort was a pilot for a rigorous Harvard University based program to develop proficiency for each child in a mixed ability classroom of 29…

A study examined how the discourse of standards and ethics plays out in texts used in core human resource development (HRD) graduate courses. Its overarching purpose was to expand the continuing discussion of ethics through critical hermeneutic analyses of key literature within HRD. It used the recently developed document of the Academy of HRD,…

Social workers in direct practice rely on critical thinking to apply theories, make informed decisions, and explain their assessments and decisions. This paper defines critical thinking and discusses skills needed for its development, methods and assignments for teaching those skills to undergraduate and graduate students in practice courses, and…

Advocates teaching science education from both Navajo and Western perspectives, giving Navajo students the ability to expand on the scientific method by constructing alternative explanatory hypotheses. Suggests that drawing from both cultural backgrounds stimulates development of the highest level of scientific thinking, which could lead to…

Describes five activities using the World Wide Web that teach students to experience searching, locating, and organizing data. Students learn to summarize statistics, analyze data, make conjectures, and communicate information. They interpret or create bar graphs, line graphs, histograms, and circle graphs. (PVD)

Provides a model National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) essay examination that teachers may use to evaluate higher-order thinking among social studies high school students. Presents a constitutional issue for students to argue positions. Reports examination results from 51 classrooms. Includes essay examples and scoring rationale.…

Presents a social studies lesson, Head-Smashed-In, based on inquiry and cooperative learning principles, that asks students to hypothesize about the mystery of an Indian buffalo jump. Provides clues and topographical maps for the Head-Smashed-In jump in Alberta, Canada. Objectives include understanding the relationship between physical environment…

Presents a classroom lesson based on a simulation of a U.S. Senate Committee hearing on the issue of coal mining on Arizona Indian reservations. Provides background information for student roles that include government representatives, coal company executives, and both traditional and progressive representatives of Native American tribes. (CFR)

Maintains that, because of its importance in modern U.S. history, over 300 college courses are taught on the Vietnam War. Asserts that studying the war helps students develop critical thinking skills needed for citizenship. Describes the texts, formats, and assignments used in a college sociology course on the Vietnam War. (CFR)

Asserts that written work has advantages over oral discussion in the development and assessment of students' critical thinking skills. Describes a set of short writing assignments that focuses on eight essential aspects of critical and creative thought. Provides examples of how to use writing assignments in college psychology courses. (CFR)

Contends that no single definition of critical thinking is widely accepted. Describes issues related to critical thinking and offers suggestions for demystifying the concept. Presents a framework for a psychology curriculum using performance-based assessment practices. (CFR)

Presents a unit of study involving tangrams that integrates geometric relationships, scale drawings, graphing, patterns, and logical thinking. Provides worksheets for independent and cooperative activities to discover geometric shapes using a specified number of tangram pieces. (MDH)

Reports on the impact of an introductory biology course sequence that incorporated experience-based, group learning. Achievement results indicate that students were not disadvantaged by this new approach and, in fact, displayed a superior grasp of group-work, open lab utilization, and creative problem solutions. Attitudes regarding anxiety over…