One of the goals of higher education is to develop the students' ability to think critically. However, little research has been done to indicate the impact of college on students' critical thinking skills. A study conducted at a midwestern university measured the critical thinking capability of college seniors. Subjects, 37 volunteers derived from…

Focusing on synthesis--the ability to recognize and create new ideas that subsume and relate to others--as one of the most sophisticated skills writers can attain, the articles in this journal present many ideas for teaching synthesis and a number of classroom approaches that combine the study of English with other fields. The following titles and…

The focus article in this newsletter contains a discussion of the theory of reading as a thinking process and offers practical suggestions for implementing instruction in teaching reading as a thinking process. The section on theory is based on observations of the reading process as perceived by psycholinguists such as Frank Smith and Kenneth…

This document consists of the first three issues of a newsletter written by the members of the Making Thinking Visible Project. The first newsletter describes collaborative planning as it related to writing, discusses school projects using collaborative planning, presents a dialogue between two students using the process, and compares…

This pamphlet is the eighth in a series of ten stemming from the view that language is central to learning, that teachers can gain insights into their work and into learning by examining the language of the classroom, and that current language theory can be the means to such insights. The pamphlet contains a discussion of the uses of language in…

The "Clipboard Connection" is a methodology to facilitate the rapid circulation of relevant pre-existing materials from Chapter 1 Technical Assistance Centers of relevant materials from Chapter 1 Technical Assistance Centers (TACs) to their clients, teachers of educationally disadvantaged children in resource centers. Each…

This introduction to the pedagogy of reading comprehension in a second language focuses on learning strategies appropriate to achieving reading competence. Lexical strategies can be fostered by tolerating local errors and encouraging practice in the identification of specific features such as tense, part of speech, and cognation. Tasks that…

The articles in this journal issue (1) discuss involving students in various language arts activities that have peace as a theme, and (2) deal with literature for students from kindergarten through grade 12. Topics in the first part are as follows: peace education in the English classroom, the peaceful hero, understanding the language of peace,…

This compilation consists of 26 consecutive issues of the journal "Seedbed," published from February 1979 through July 1986. Each issue contains articles written by teachers for teachers. "Seedbed" is an outcome of the Teachers' Center Project at Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville. It is designed to be neither scholarly nor trivial. Each…

The following articles and features are presented in this issue: (1) "Approaches to Text," by R. Gannon; (2) "A Case Study in Dealing with Cultural Reserve as an Impediment to Language Learning," by R. Harker; (3) "Student-Centered Chalkboard Activities for Beginning Learners," by W. Matreyek; (4) "Introducing Dialects in the ESL Class," by M.…

Designed to explore the ways language functions to help children gain access to meaning as they progress through the educational system, this journal issue views communication as a social, interactive process in which speakers and writers attempt to link into what listeners and readers know, want to know, or need to know. The 12 articles in the…

This document consists of two issues of the journal "Seedbed," an outcome of the Teachers' Center Project at Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville. Designed to be neither scholarly nor trivial, each issue is a collection of teachers' ideas that they thought worth sharing with other teachers as "seedlings" to be developed, helping teachers…

Various sources of learner problems are identified and specific remedial activities are suggested for difficulties in speaking, listening, reading, writing, vocabulary acquisition, and grammar tasks. Some of the more common sources of learner difficulties that are discussed are: poor memory, lack of flexibility, too impulsive, too reflective,…