The two chief approaches to teaching argumentation and invention over the centuries have been first presenting a formal, abstract system, such as logic or topic, then emphasizing audience analysis. Sometimes these have been seen as alternatives, and sometimes as complements. Cursory attention is often paid to the ideal of investigating audience…

The purpose of this study was to examine the thinking underlying the questions posed by a science teacher to her seventh grade students in an instructional activity called Mind Games, in which hypothetical situations focussed on scientific issues are proposed and explored at least once during each major instructional unit. Mind games are conveyed…

This thesis examines the formation of thought and the separate functions of the left and right brains, emphasizing the scientific basis of creative thinking. It explains the cause and effect relationship of thought and some possible methods for reconstructing an individual's belief system to produce desired effects. This reconstruction process is…

The nature of classroom activities, cognitive learning opportunities, and instruction in seventh and eighth grades within the academic subject areas was examined. The purpose was to describe and interpret classroom learning opportunities in terms compatible with the complexity of typical classroom events and teachers' understanding of those…

References on problem solving are categorized and annotated in this document. The philosophy of problem solving, especially its meaning and its implications for the mathematics curriculum, are examined in references included in the first section. In the second section, references on different strategies and techniques of problem solving that…

This study was designed to follow up earlier work on mapping instruction. The two main goals were to: (1) test the effectiveness of mapping instruction as a general cure for "buggy" subtraction algorithms, and (2) explore two alternative explanations of how this new form of instruction works. It was hypothesized that mapping cures bugs…

Good writers, as compared to a randomly-chosen comparison group, spent more time in both prewriting and writing, revised more, re-read more often during writing, and were more concerned with the purpose of their writing. (JH)

Students made increased, but statistically non-significant, use of invention procedures taught them over the span of a one-semester composition course. (JH)

One aspect of Jean Piaget's theory of cognitive development was tested in this research project. It was hypothesized that an adult individual in the concrete stage of development is able to use seriation and classification in dealing with concrete objects, but is unable to think in terms of possibilities. An individual operating on the formal…

This report discusses the opposition to fantasy, as well as the support for it, both as an activity of the mind and as literature, and concludes that fantasy literature is useful in promoting language development and literature appreciation. The report then discusses characteristics of fantasy literature, lists works suitable for class use, and…

A seminar devoted to explorations of the feelings of self and others, as a means of heightening responses to literature, is described. (JH)

Mathematics education research from fourteen studies is abstracted and critiqued in this publication. Six cover aspects of instructional practice, four deal with points in learning theory, two with problem solving, and one each with calculators and sex differences. Research in mathematics education as reported in CIJE and RIE from October to…

Twelve research reports related to mathematics education are abstracted and analyzed. Three of the reports deal with aspects of learning theory, two with student characteristics, and one each with calculators, problem solving, secondary mathematics curriculum changes in Australia, sex differences, teaching methods, and tutoring strategies. The…

A theory of textual processing signals--cues to guide the response of any reader to a narrative text--can be evolved from Gerald Prince's theory of reading interludes and William Labov's work on narrative evaluation. An examination of these signals in two personal experience narratives written by students in remedial and freshman writing courses…

Presented are examples of student differences in thought forms derived from interviews of students entering the natural science line and technology line of the integrated upper secondary schools in Sweden. Methods are outlined for the symbolic description, analysis and interpretation of "thought forms," and ways are described in which dialogue…