Although there are many remediation materials for learning disabled children available commercially, with more being produced none are as universally available or as economical as comic strips. (Author)

Describes research studies stimulated by the concern for facilitation of logical operations in elementary school and junior high school children and based on the assumption that the level of reasoning used for inquiry and concept acquisition by every individual is substantially below his capacity. (PEB)

One of the goals of writing instruction is to teach students to develop coherence in their writing; however, writing instruction that relies too heavily on logical connections and organizational techniques often introduces so many rules that students lose their personal connection to what they write. Coherence has less to do with structure than…

The contention of this paper is that logicality and emotionality are not two poles of a continuum but orthogonal dimensions which may exist to varying degrees in an argument. It was hypothesized that: (1) logicality and emotionality would be perceived as independent components by subject; and (2) messages high in logic would have more influence on…

Characteristics of successful and unsuccessful problem solvers in categorization tasks are examined in this study of undergraduate students. Findings are reviewed of the categorization and solution tasks undertaken by a group (N=21) of science majors at a private university. The subjects were classified as either successful or unsuccessful in…

A description is provided of the use of a Critical Thinking Worksheet as a pedagogical tool for introducing critical thinking to students of philosophy and informal logic. First, an accompanying handout introduces essential terms such as "argument,""conclusion," and "reasons or premises." The worksheet itself constitutes the second page of the…

The paper's purpose is to clarify and develop some theoretical and practical implications of the concept of critical thinking, and the field of social studies is used as one example of the problem. The work of four leading critical theorists (Robert Ennis, Harvey Siegel, Michael Scriven, and R. S. Peters) is described and a distinction is made…

This paper addresses the problem of probabilistic reasoning as it applies to Truth Maintenance Systems (TMS). A computer-based Belief Maintenance System (BMS) has been constructed which manages a current set of probabilistic beliefs in much the same way that a TMS manages a set of true/false beliefs. It may be thought of as a generalization of a…

Although the primary focus of this book is on curriculum and instruction, the social, psychological, and historical context of the holistic curriculum are also considered. This curriculum seeks to develop the whole individual by fostering a sense of connectedness within oneself and with others. Various connections--between logic and intuition,…

This issue of "Information Technology Quarterly" is devoted to the theme of "Artificial Intelligence." It contains two major articles: (1) Artificial Intelligence and Law" (D. Peter O'Neill and George D. Wood); (2) "Artificial Intelligence: A Long and Winding Road" (John J. Simon, Jr.). In addition, it contains two sidebars: (1) "Calculating and…

According to S. K. Langer, people create meaning through presentational and discursive symbolism. Presentational symbolism, Langer suggests, is an abstracted sense of experienced life, while discursive symbolism is a series of subordinating or coordinating positions that set in motion the relation of ideas and permits the discussion of causation.…

This study attempted to search for a learning hierarchy among the skills comprising formal operations and the integrated science processes. Data were obtained from two instruments administered to 741 high school science students. The Group Assessment of Logical Thinking (GALT) measured performance on six Piagetian cognitive modes: controlling…

A project to improve higher level thinking skills of elementary students in Hillsborough County, Florida is reported as a feature article (66p). An introductory overview chapter reviews the literature on teaching thinking skills. Chapter 1 provides background information on the community and the two schools selected for the practicum. The second…

The mental representations used by experts and novices for organizing their knowledge of a discipline have been studied by observing the categorization schemes these subjects produce when presented with a diverse group of problems. In this study, seven biology faculty, eight certified genetic counselors, and 26 students were asked to organize a…

The emergence of a modern or "new" rhetoric has been characterized by its attempt both to recover and reexamine the concepts of classical rhetoric and to define itself against that classical tradition. The distinctions that are persistently drawn between classical and modern rhetoric fall under four related heads: images of man and…