A variety of memory strategies can be used to retrain an individual's ability to process information in working memory. This article provides step-by-step instructions for various memory encoding strategies. These strategies include training in perceptual grouping of number series, organization, mediation, mental imagery, and associative memory.…

Comparison of the time estimation skills of 16 seventh grade male students with emotional handicaps with those of their nonhandicapped peers suggested that students with emotional handicaps exhibit significantly poorer time estimation skills than do their nonhandicapped peers. (Author/DB)

Technology contributes to the growth of human knowledge in five distinct, though overlapping, ways: (1) all technologies are material embodiments and thus more or less durable records of ideas that have survived some test with external reality; (2) telescopes, microscopes, and similar technologies extend external experience and knowledge to areas…

This article discusses techniques for reaching the metaphorical side of the brain. (PD)

This book first discusses the need for teaching thinking. Each of its eight chapters is devoted to a different approach to teaching thinking in our schools. In the discussion of each, key questions are considered and summarized, concerning assumptions, goals, methods and materials, the target audience, teacher qualifications, benefits, and special…

Two important factors that influence problem solving are the nature of the task and the kind of knowledge brought to the problem by the solver. After a consideration of the definition of a problem, puzzle problems are discussed, as are problem representation and general processes of solution. Also discussed is the question of solving problems that…

Educators must provide conditions which encourage the practice and demonstration of intelligent behaviors. Twelve characteristics of intelligent behavior are discussed, such as persistence, decreasing impulsivity, listening to others, metacognition, questioning and problem posing, etc. A summary of the school conditions in which intelligent…

A graduate of a course in history's great ideas and the processes of thinking about them encourages the development of similar courses, arguing that important aspects of intellectual development are being ignored in the current college curriculum. (MSE)

Describes subjective-contour illusions and gives explanations for perception of shape and brightness in these figures. Supports cognitive mechanisms rather than psychological mechanisms. Gives examples of subjective-contour illusions and summarizes explanations of other psychologists with regard to this topic. (CW)

The open-approach teaching method, a problem-solving method, is described, with examples of situations and problems that are suitable for this approach. The teaching-learning process and educational implications are discussed. (MNS)

The CoRT (Cognitive Research Trust) is a five-step program in direct instruction of thinking skills which increase the number and diversity of ideas as well as help the individual establish goals, set priorities, improve interactions with others, and incorporate feeling into thinking. (DB)

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)

The processes and procedures used by expert mental calculators are identified from a literature review. Experts are characterized by knowledge of a variety of methods, ability to recall numerical equivalents, and ability to remember the numbers involved in various stages of calculations. (MNS)

Describes writing assignments that help students make the transition from concrete to formal operations. The assignments confront the writers with an idea or piece of experience, ask them to respond to it and how they arrived at this response, and what other responses could be made by them or by someone else. (HTH)