Examined effects of training in sequencing pairs of visual stimuli on subsequent six-stimuli or five overlapping two-stimuli sequencing. Subjects were 3- and 4-year-olds. Found that few succeeded with untrained two- and six-stimulus sequences derivable from the two-stimulus training, but when given training on only the overlapping sequences,…

Proposes a variant of mental model theory which suggests that the development of conditional reasoning (if--then) can be explained by such factors as the capacity of working memory, range of knowledge available to a reasoner, and his/her ability to access this knowledge "on-line." Finds much empirical data explained by this model.…

Investigated the role of "nonlogical" perceptual cues to differential absolute size in the transitive inferences of 6- and 7-year-olds. Found that both age groups showed identical overall premise memory, but the younger group tended to reason more on the basis of perceptual information rather than on successfully encoded premise…

A logical thinking test containing logical fallacies was administered to groups of 16-year-old and 17-year-old students (N=437) in Austria, Israel, and the Philippines. Students considered very able performed satisfactorily when required to choose a logically sound option, but exhibited weak performance when test items required a logically…

Presents a questioning strategy designed to provide teachers with tools for thinking about questions and their use in classroom science inquiry. Topics discussed include history, relationships, application, speculation, and explanation. (JRH)

Asserts that poetry is a basic way for individuals to learn enough about their culture to become a welcome member of it. Offers the views on poetry of several poets. Discusses the benefits of using poetry, rather than logical mathematical thought, to teach students how they view reality. (PRA)

Three theories of deafness and cognition are summarized, and the problem of deaf children's lagging cognitive development in concrete nonverbal logical problems is considered. It is suggested that this delay may be caused by the difficulty hearing people have communicating to the deaf, and educational implications of this speculation are noted.…

Although critical thinking has become a pedagogical industry, its endorsement by educators is uncritical. The conventional critical thinking model assumes that only logical thinking is good thinking. However, good thinking also includes rational but nonlogical cognitive functions. To ignore them is to train students in only one aspect of thinking.…

Three responses from teachers to a problem originally presented in the January-February 1996 issue are shared. The problem concerns sharing a fraction of a meal's price between six diners. Each response reflects a different approach to the problem and to using the problem with a class of students. (AIM)

Investigates forms of logical thinking in 75 students from three fifth-grade classes. Uses as instruments categorical and propositional syllogisms with unknown, doubtful, and contradictory facts. Shows relevant differences among the three classes, with increasing difficulties at resolution between the categorical and propositional syllogisms.…

The accounts given of the standard "ad hominem" fallacy in logic textbooks raise three interesting and important issues for teachers of critical reasoning skills. Firstly, the standard definition, explanation and examples of the "ad hominem" fallacy seriously distort the manner in which this type of argument is effectively used in the complex…

This article describes an activity that one science teacher uses with her eighth grade class on the first day of school. Wanting to start the year off "right" (whatever that is), this teacher purposely plans to model the thinking behavior she expects from her students and to let them have some fun to settle those first-day jitters. She also wants…

Media Clips aims to offer readers contemporary, authentic applications of quantitative reasoning based on print or electronic media. Clips may be in text or graphic format, and clip sources may be either print or electronic media.

Recent work shows an important asymmetry in lay intuitions about moral dilemmas. Most people think it is permissible to divert a train so that it will kill one innocent person instead of five, but most people think that it is not permissible to push a stranger in front of a train to save five innocents. We argue that recent emotion-based…

This paper addresses four questions: What are the effects of reducing class size? How important are these effects? How can we explain these effects? and How can we improve the outcomes when class sizes are reduced? A major aim is to provide directions for resolving the paradox as to "Why reducing class size has not led to major improvements in…