In an effort to foster group work, encourage critical thinking, and assist students in understanding the costs and benefits of being a critical thinker, a classroom activity was developed for use in an introductory psychology course. In the activity, students are divided into groups and presented with a taxonomy of cognitive objectives,…

In 1996, Lakeland Community College (Ohio) participated in the American Association of Community Colleges' Exploring America's Communities project, which works to strengthen the instruction of American history, literature, and culture at community colleges. The primary objective of the team's approach has been to identify strategies for enhancing…

When a student begins to appropriate an idea from classroom discourse, the idea is likely to be perceived incompletely because the speaker's understanding of the idea cannot be conveyed in its entirety through the discourse. Under the guidance of the teacher, the discourse serves to stimulate further development of the idea itself, the development…

Over a 2-year period, several teacher book clubs were studied. Teachers' and preservice teachers' responses to a series of texts that focused on multiculturalism in American society were examined. Twelve elementary school teachers, representing four ethnic groups (European American, Asian American, African American, and Hispanic), volunteered to…

A widespread movement is underway to shift from teacher-centered toward more student-centered learning. Teachers are being encouraged to lecture less and lead more discussions, to be less directive and more facilitative. Students are being encouraged to be less passive and more participatory. In a magazine writing class, an instructor asked his…

There is a need to expand the notion of acceptable thinking practices to include nontraditional thinking and wonder. Such an approach can help students learn to deal with ambiguity. The unique design of ambiguous thought evokes wonder, discovery, interrelationships, and new connections. Ambiguous thinking refrains from making unequivocal…

Undergraduate students are routinely assigned a long research paper--surely the most complex intellectual skill ever expected from them--and expected to write it with a minimum of teacher and library interference and with thorough faith in the end product. More than anything else, the traditional approach to directing research papers focused on…

This booklet provides an introduction to the study circle, which features informal, face-to-face, sustained small-group discussion of social and political issues. Section 2 discusses how study circles integrate life and learning. Section 3 focuses on the significance of the study circle idea--bringing citizens back to political life. Study circle…

A study examined students' reactions to the Student-Directed Discussion technique (an attempt to develop a class "text" from the students' joint construction of meaning) as used in a methods course on language development. The students (25 of 27 were present the day of the survey) responded anonymously concerning whether they thought the…

A study investigated the relationship between classroom discussion and literacy development in a college developmental reading classroom. It explored the implementation of C. Goldenberg's instructional conversation model (1992/93), focusing on the relatively untested assumption that discussion promotes reading comprehension, interpretation, and…

Designed to improve the rigor and clarity of children's reasoning about ethical issues, this book provides a practical, down-to-earth, discussion-based approach to teaching ethics to second- and third-grade children. The book provides stories, lesson plans, questioning strategies, guidance on using children's books for ethics lessons, and a…

Students can be motivated to write and be guided through the writing process without giving them the impression that they are doing it again until they get it right. To motivate students, make it known as specifically as possible what kind of written assignment will be required and how it will be graded. Then guide the students towards the goal by…

The Foundational Approaches in Science Teaching (FAST) project, which began under the sponsorship of the Hawaii Science Curriculum Council, contains a series of interdisciplinary science courses that emphasize the foundational concepts and methods of the physical, biological, and earth sciences. By directly involving students in investigating…

Science and technology are often presented and taught as two separate essences. When this is done, students as well as teachers are forced to attempt to develop the appropriate linkages. This book is one of a series designed to help teachers develop their science and technological education in ways that are both satisfying to themselves and…

A study examined similarities and differences between adults' and children's responses to the same children's book, and the role of discussion in shaping adults' perceptions about the book and their understanding of children's responses. Subjects, 129 students in five university children's literature classes, read and responded in writing to…