The Public Law enacted in 1971 requires that fundamental subject matter areas taught in Wisconsin's public schools be assessed. It is proposed in this paper that assessment of the State's social studies programs needs to focus its attention on the school environment, which educators can and should control, change, and improve, rather than…

A case for the use of simulation in speech education is built, and the teacher is encouraged to experiment with this strategy in various learning environments. The simulation model is described in the Planning Stage, the Developing Stage, the Implementing Stage, and the Evaluating Stage. It is concluded that as a teaching strategy, simulation…

Discusses the need to teach undergraduate students the critical thinking processes necessary to formulating and researching a topic, rather than the technicalities of online catalogs. The development and design of an online catalog at Dickinson College, which forces students to make informed choices throughout the search process, is described.…

Examines the impact of high technology on society and the need for curriculum change to prepare students for the future. Discusses the skills needed for life-long learning, including ability to access information, critical and creative thinking, decision making, problem solving, and flexibility and adaptability. (JHZ)

Compared "extended discretion" (ED) learning approach to traditional Biological Sciences Curriculum Study (BSCS) laboratory investigations. Found that although ED students are more capable of exercising independent judgment for greater lengths of time while BSCS demanded more teacher time, all teachers were still reluctant to accord…

Educational administrators in the future will have to be proactive, anticipatory, and flexible if they are to provide effective leadership. International exchange experiences can offer administrators professional development opportunities for examining administrative issues from different perspectives. (Author/MSE)

This paper discusses critical thinking and ways education leaders can apply it to problems in educational settings. It forwards a model of critical thinking, called TC2, designed by The Critical Thinking Consortium, a group of scholars, teachers, and educational leaders in British Columbia, Canada. The model addresses four interrelated components…

This document contains two volumes of papers presented at the first annual meeting of the International Organization of Science and Technology Education Symposium. Each volume of papers is divided into two sections. Section 1 of the first volume focuses on relevant teaching, incorporating curriculum, teaching approaches, and assessment aspects.…

This paper explains the importance of disposition as an essential aspect of critical thinking and suggests how instruction can be designed to promote learners' development of the dispositional side of critical thinking. Topics addressed include: (1) the dispositional bottleneck between opportunity and action, i.e., sensitivity to occasion; (2)…

Reviews recent research on problem solving, summarizing differences between problem-solving styles of novices and experts. Also describes a text by Daniel Solow ("How to Read and Do Proofs"). Includes chapter titles for the text useful for students who wish to improve their understanding of mathematical reasoning. (JM)

Three large, unstructured workshops (500-800 people) demonstrated how large groups of people can participate together and collectively choose ways of action aimed at satisfying all. Particular significance given to participants' shift away from looking for outside sources of answers, values and standards to discovery of strengths and answers…

Because of the complexity of large-scale projects, teams of experts have become the new designers of the built environment, with clients, decision makers, and buildings' users demanding inclusion in these teams. The Grand Frame Game is described as a technique for including people in decision making. (MLW)

Discusses two computer problem solving programs: rule-based expert systems and decision analysis expert systems. Explores the application of expert systems to automated chemical analyses. Presents six factors to consider before using expert systems. (MVL)

Compares a program written both in BASIC and LOGO on its inferential and decision making ability. Explains steps in each program and how deductions and decisions are made. (MVL)

Statistical process control (SPC), which employs simple statistical tools and problem-solving techniques such as histograms, control charts, flow charts, and Pareto charts to implement continual product improvement procedures, can be incorporated into human service organizations. Examples illustrate use of SPC procedures to analyze behavioral data…