The main idea skill presents a structure that is the basis of all kinds of understanding and narration activities. In this respect, while it covers all language skills, it also lays the groundwork for all learning levels and lessons because people communicate through meaning transfer. Therefore, the importance of main idea teaching is not limited…

This essay explores a variety of ways California's English Learner (EL) Roadmap can be used as a tool to make significant and transformative changes to provide meaningful learning opportunities for students classified as English Learners. The EL Roadmap contains 4 principles: (1) Asset-oriented and needs-responsive schools; (2) Intellectual…

Since 1996, hundreds of teacher preparation programs and thousands of schools, school districts, and government agencies have turned to the Framework for Teaching for a better understanding of excellent instruction. The Framework's four domains, 22 components, and 78 key elements provide an expansive, holistic definition of what teachers across…

A four-prong instructional model for intellectual-skills development is described. The four prongs are: familiarization, intra-group problem solving, inter-group problem solving, and individual problem solving. A psychological model of what is to be taught, the triarchic theory of human intelligence, provides the underpinning of the instructional…

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…

Fascination with pedagogical technique has denigrated the intellectual life of K-12 educators and furthered the proliferation of "interdisciplinary" instructional approaches that blur important distinctions among disciplines. An atmosphere that values technique over substance tends to drive out or marginalize educators who enjoy reading and…

Ideas for teaching children about creativity and its importance are offered in this article. Ingredients for developing creativity skills are presented and suggested projects are discussed. (DF)

A question-answer format on how specific teacher behaviors influence students' acquisition of information, ability to make information meaningful, and application of meaning to new situations. (Author/MLF)

Examines the way in which studying history contributes to intellectual development. Identifies five mental attributes it enhances: perspective--gained from placing people, events, institutions against larger background; encounter--confronting great ideas, personalities, etc.; relativism in a pluralistic world--developed from immersion in other…

Responding to Goldman's critique of the Socratic method, the author redefines the "Socratic spirit" as rational dialog focused on questions of significance in an atmosphere of mutual support and cooperation. Exemplified in Lipman's "Philosophy for Children," this approach nourishes the reflective spirit in children and develops…

The authors caution that in neglecting to focus on cognitive training, special education may be denying the very ideology on which it is built. (Author)

This paper advocates a philosophy of science teaching that embraces intellectual conflict, suggesting that it is important to engage students in productive intellectual conflict in order to teach for conceptual change. Presents two approaches that could actualize the philosophy of "teaching the conflicts" within science instruction. (SM)

The article reviews the cognitive behavioral approaches to the training of intelligence in the mentally retarded. A proposed structure of intelligent behavior is presented that serves as the basis for classifying the intended foci of the various training programs. Selected training programs are reviewed in terms of this classification. The…

Argues that the Socratic method is inappropriate for children because it teaches them to question adult authority before they have the necessary experience and is therefore conducive to cynicism. A traditional liberal arts curriculum, combining transmission of culture with open inquiry, is preferable to attempts to teach critical thinking. (TE)

Parents and teachers help children develop their intelligence by mediating their learning experiences. When children seek such mediation by asking questions, parents and teachers can use one of seven responses. The single most helpful response is to take children's questions seriously and turn them into golden thinking and learning opportunities.…