The educational system has not been particularly successful in teaching thinking skills. In order to do so, it is necessary to identify what thinking skills are and understand their development. Current research and design of future research are discussed, as is the problem of transfer. (MT)

The act of composing is best described as a set of distinguishable processes that interact. There are four methods for researching these processes: (1) behavior protocols, in which subjects are observed but are not asked to report their thought processes verbally; (2) directed reports, in which subjects are asked to explain how they performed a…

Examines issues associated with the design of and statistical inferences from embedded experiments which vary the questionnaire content into sample surveys of broad populations. Provides an example of context effects in attitude surveys, a summary, and conclusions. (RT)

The purpose of this study was to determine the types of research methods used to study cognitive processing development in gifted learners, from 1975-1986. Of 870 research publications identified on giftedness, 522 publications (60 percent) dealt with cognitive processing development. Research designs used most frequently were causal-comparative,…

Two methodological problems often arising in dyslexia research are considered. The first problem concerns the validity of experimental measures and the related problem of interpreting null results. The second problem involves the effects of sampling from a disabled population if the disorder under investigation has multiple unknown origins.…

Recent studies are examined for methodological adequacy in establishing dimensions of individual differences in information-processing abilities, and the theoretical problems involved in inferring psychological processes from individual difference dimensions. Methodological inadequacies include use of small samples, questionable procedures in…

Reviews research conducted to determine if learning to program in Logo has a positive effect on other aspects of thinking, based on Seymour Papert's findings on Logo. The appropriateness of research on Logo and programming is discussed, and research studies involving elementary and secondary school children are briefly described. (LRW)

Past research which used Piaget's model of cognitive development has suggested that historical understanding is a developmental construct. The present study, designed to test the theoretical adequacy of previous studies, shows that a new variable, information processing, could predict the level of historical understanding. (Author/CS)

Argues that there are no apparent methodological implications of feminist scholarship. Discusses feminist epistemological critiques of social science. Asserts that a feminist perspective can be incorporated into any research methodological tradition. (CFR)

Because of recent shifts in understanding the nature of knowledge and the process of learning, there may be major and long-lasting changes in the nature of educational research and its role for educators. Since most people understand through the use of metaphor, a metaphor that previously fostered the understanding of research is the assembly line…

Maintains that undergraduate psychology curricula almost always include one or more required experimental courses. Describes the use of the human subjects review process as a method of stimulating critical thinking. Discusses questions posed by the review process and classroom applications of the approach. (CFR)

Although the relationship between reading and writing proficiency has interested scholars for two centuries, the exact nature of this relationship has resisted discovery. The persistance of statistically significant correlations across a broad range of subjects, measures, and experimental settings leaves no doubt that a moderate link between…

This final volume of a six-volume study of an elementary school called "Kensington" in a school district code-named "Milford," examines its own assumptions and procedures. After the brief, introductory chapter, which presents the methodological appendixes of the preceding volumes as a serial, chapter 2 discusses exploratory and…