Madison Elementary School, a K-6 school of 335 students in Marshfield, Wisconsin, recognizes the value of student feedback and strives to learn more through monthly student meetings, whole-class sit-downs, and student exit interviews. As the principal of Madison Elementary School, the author meets with a group of students for half an hour during…

The Thinking/Writing model integrates principles of learning theory, composing process research, and practical writing strategies. It is developed to motivate teachers to use writing as a tool for promoting cognitive growth. (MD)

The acting out of personal experiences with bullying promotes compassion and allows all students, including bullies, victims and witnesses, to stand up for justice. Playback theaters interpret personal experiences in a creative, nonconfrontational and nonjudgmental way, demonstrating to students that the playback stage is a safe place where they…

Using short-term pilot programs to evaluate textbooks can lead to unreliable results and interfere with effective education. Alternative methods for evaluating textbook-based programs include obtaining documented analyses of competitors' products from sales agents, visiting districts using programs being considered, and examining publishers' own…

Kindergarten teachers explore reading comprehension by using a surprisingly complex array of strategies. Kindergarten can be converted as a workshop of readers and thinkers, who take seriously the work of making meaning from books and also building on their interests helps students make authentic connections.

This article reviews the research on student summarization of text--presenting basic rules of summarization, relating grade-level abilities, and giving teacher guidelines. A 10-item reference list is provided. (DCS)

Culturally responsive education can strengthen student connectedness with schools. The different approaches that educators should follow to promote culturally responsive education are presented.

Sifts through confusing intelligence theories, arguing that intelligence is a combination of influences involving power, tactics, and content. Good thinking is an unnatural act demanding evenhanded reasoning, problem finding (versus solving), and knowledge as invention. Discusses thinking frames guiding thought processes and the implications for…

This interview with David Perkins, codirector of Harvard's Project Zero and author of "The Mind's Best Work," focuses on the links between creative and critical thinking styles. Exercises in Venezuela's Project Intelligence are also discussed, along with possible curricular approaches to teaching skills. (11 references) (MLH)

Proposes a method for evaluating courseware as an integral part of curriculum, based both on "curriculum commonplaces" (the curriculum content and all that surrounds it) and on educational values and beliefs; an evaluative matrix is offered, with the commonplaces arrayed along one axis, values and beliefs along the other. (MCG)

Students can learn from writing, regardless of subject area, by keeping a learning log or journal. Several types of questions and topics are suggested for the teacher to guide students in making their entries. (DCS)

To solve the problems of low achieving students, it is important to change the quality of teaching instruction. Cognitive instruction is presented as a critical component for this large scale-change. Includes extensive references. (MD)

Walla Walla Schools (Washington) designed a demonstration project using the Marzano thinking skills model, which emphasizes learning preparation, content thinking, and basic reasoning skills. Placing selected thinking skills within specific curriculum areas and grade levels proved so successful that teachers then collaborated on a content-free…

Assails schools for rushing into the thinking skills approach without examining advances in cognitive science, artificial intelligence, neuropsychology, and other brain-related disciplines. Blames the classroom situation itself for forcing teachers into counterproductive, direct teaching methods that don't work. Asserts the need for…

The availability of several effective teaching models that allow the teaching of thinking skills and subject matter simultaneously proves that intellectual processes and content are not incompatible subjects for instruction. These models differ significantly from traditional models, and adequate training in them will require a thorough commitment…