To meet the sociological, psychological, and linguistic needs of disadvantaged children in teaching the language arts, both special teacher preparation--involving field experiences and mastery of the subject matter as well as teaching strategies--and effective language programs are necessary. Various teaching methods and materials have met with…

A study conducted in four Wisconsin secondary schools attempted to measure student abilities in evaluating verbal argument and to determine the grade level at which verbal argument concepts and skills should be appropriately taught. Seven tests, known as the Wisconsin Tests of Testimony and Reasoning Assessment (WISTTRA), were administered to 3000…

A desirable approach and sequence for the presentation of rhetorical principles to students of junior high school age is outlined. Principles of invention, logical ordering, strategy, and style are discussed with special reference to writing models, developing skills of observation, audience consideration, and precise diction. Specific objectives…

Discusses the claims that experiences in computer programming enhance performance on conditional reasoning tasks. Describes three experimental studies designed to address that hypothesis using three different populations of students. Results of all three studies indicate nonsignificant treatment effects. (TW)

Five studies examined the effect of dysphoric mood on perceivers' subjective unitization of an observed other's ongoing behavior into discrete meaningful actions. Dysphoria generally reduced unitization rate (i.e., number of actions discriminated). Additional evidence indicates this reduction results from failure to initiate a higher (more…

Investigates cognitive strategies that Hispanic elementary school students use in critical thinking social studies problems. Describes a survey examining the use of 12 cognitive strategies and the analysis of task completion. Concludes that students need to learn specific cognitive strategies in higher level tasks. (KO)

Examines two concepts: subjective theory and teacher-as-researcher. Two research models (the subjective to scientific exchange approach and action research) are applied to two case studies of teachers participating in an inquiry-based INSET course to test the usefulness of theoretical change concepts for the understanding of individual change…

In an attempt to devise a methodology for characterizing children's intuitive theories of drug action, 217 children in Grades 1 to 6 were interviewed about how two substances, alcohol and cocaine, cause behavioral changes in their users. Measures tapped both structure (Piagetian complexity of causal reasoning, coherence, and construction of a…

The 4th International Conference on Educational Data Mining (EDM 2011) brings together researchers from computer science, education, psychology, psychometrics, and statistics to analyze large datasets to answer educational research questions. The conference, held in Eindhoven, The Netherlands, July 6-9, 2011, follows the three previous editions…

Cognitive science research offers hope for the development of innovative science teaching strategies that facilitate the development of optimally interconnected procedural and declarative knowledge networks. Improving students' neural networks should improve their abilities to think critically, reason logically, learn more efficiently, and solve…

This document describes curriculum and resources designed to foster and expand the philosophical thinking of elementary and middle school students. The booklet begins with excerpts from and a discussion of Matthew Lipman's novel "Harry Stottlemeier's Discovery," written to help elementary and middle school students discover both formal…

The empirical validity of generalizability theory was investigated by applying two three-facet designs to data obtained in 1988 from administration of the Scientific Thinking and Research Skill Test (STRST). The decision validity of the STRST was also examined. Subjects were 125 fifth-grade and 125 sixth-grade students who were administered the…

A proposed project would develop a rural policy studies program for high school seniors in northern New York State. The program would deal with value positions as they pertain to the improvement of social conditions, use a variety of sources and kinds of knowledge, emphasize development and use of thinking skills, and concentrate on how knowledge…

This study investigated the effects on the performance of different age group students of: (1) method of task presentation; (2) format of test questionnaire; and (3) the numerical content of the tasks. The sample consisted of 556 students from grades 7, 9 and 12. The tasks, used for assessing reasoning skills, were taken from the Video-Taped Group…

Many researchers believe that prior knowledge is the single most important variable influencing learning. Learning in the classroom is determined or affected positively or negatively, to some degree, by the knowledge people bring to the classroom. This study was designed to: (1) assess fifth- and eighth-grade Korean students' misconceptions of…