Describes the contents of a book entitled The Care and Feeding of Ideas: A Guide to Encouraging Creativity which considers the thinking process, why skills need to be developed, and how students use or should use these thinking skills. (RT)

Comments on remarks by A. Graham Down, president of the Council for Basic Education, about integrating arts education into the curriculum. Concludes that, when the arts are channeled into the mainstream and made part and parcel of everything, arts education becomes dangerously confused. (CFR)

Contends that criticism of progressive pedagogical methods may be creating an ideologically neutral orthodoxy of primary school practice in Great Britain. Expresses caution about this development by defending principles underlying progressive education. Argues for the development of child-centered teaching methods within the National Curriculum.…

Reports on 2 studies of 48 eighth-grade students in which mnemonic devices and strategies were employed. Finds that both regular and learning-disabled students preferred mnemonic instruction to traditional teaching methods. Concludes that mnemonic methods can help improve student learning of historical information. (CFR)

Reports on a review of research into the effects of organizational structure on the acquisition of knowledge. Asserts that the opportunity to learn has two dimensions: (1) the amount of exposure; and (2) the quality of exposure. Concludes that teachers and students make decisions about these dimensions, which are affected by inducements and…

The idea of "Executive Mind" carries with it the notion of purposeful and effective action. Part I of this paper characterizes three complements to "Executive Mind"--"Observing Mind,""Theorizing Mind," and "Passionate Mind"--and offers historical figures exemplifying all four types. The concluding…

Prepared as part of a series applying recent research in oral and written communication instruction to classroom practice, this booklet examines the language interaction that takes place between student and teacher and between student and student whenever a geniune dialogue about an important event or problem occurs. The first section of the…

One area explored in the second (in-depth) phase of the Learning in Science Project was "children's science," defined as views of the world and the meanings for words that children have and bring with them to science lessons. The investigation reported focuses on students' thinking regarding their views on gravity. Students (N=42) were…

The Learning in Science Project identified the learner as the key perspective for in-depth study into problems and difficulties in the teaching and learning of science at the 10- to 14-year-old level. Two complementary research foci were established to explore this viewpoint: (1) interviewing children using strategies designed to establish various…

Stanford University's new Symbolic Systems Program is an interdisciplinary undergraduate program focusing on understanding the nature of intelligent behavior. It brings together the disciplines of cognitive psychology, logic, computer science and artificial intelligence, philosophy, and linguistics in a newly emerging field of research concerned…

Elaborates on the article "Synthesis of Research on the Effectiveness of Intellectual Skills Programs: Snake-Oil Remedies or Miracle Cures?" by Sternberg and Bhana. Encourages the development of a theory that could provide a guide to the infusion of thinking instruction into any area of inquiry. (IW)

This article suggests several proven strategies to help students move beyond the knowledge-telling stage of writing to the knowledge-transforming approach, which involves not only putting one's knowledge into words but the reflection upon, revision, and improvement of that knowledge. Eleven references are listed. (DCS)

This volume explores the academic issue: what is knowledge and what gives it its authority. The book makes three related points: (1) colleges and universities must think of themselves not as stores of knowledge but as institutions of reacculturation; (2) college and university professors must view themselves not as purveyors of information but as…

Reviews the concept of reflective practice within the framework of experiential learning theory. Discusses ways in which reflective practice advances professional practice for teachers and administrators. Explores the implications of these ideas for professional education and for school reform. (JS)

Addresses one of three major challenges facing distance education--its claimed overreliance on behaviorist approaches to teaching and learning. Maintains that distance learning encourages students to review their own learning approaches and to be more proactive about their study methods. (CFR)