In this book, the author demonstrates how teachers can transform the experience of K-12 students and help them become more knowledgeable and more creative in their thinking. At the core of this transformative process is imagination which can become the heart of effective learning if it is tied to education's central tasks. The book offers an…

The lack of a philosophical teaching approach in social studies is partly due to the lack of exposure students have had to philosophy in preparatory programs and partly due to a lack of preparation for teachers in college. (JN)

Report of a study, using 7 13 year-old boys and girls, which sought to determine if the growth of underlying spatial abilities are enhanced more if technical drawing activities requiring multiview spatial ability are presented before surface development activities, or vice versa. Includes implications for teaching technical drawing. (TA)

Twenty-two secondary students with learning disabilities were successfully taught the principles of scientific reasoning. Using student-teacher dialogs, students analyzed information presented in magazine articles and advertisements. Students improved their ability to identify the principal claim made in an article or advertisement, graph the…

Classroom teachers frequently use various programs, strategies, and techniques to enhance student thinking, including questioning, writing, and general information processing (meaning construction, encoding, matching, analyzing, representing, and abstracting). The paper notes other strategies not used or underutilized by teachers. (SM)

This article presents specific instructional approaches and examples to develop the algebraic reasoning skills of middle and secondary students with mild disabilities. Discussion of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics standards identifies general principles, content standards, and process standards. Discussion of effective instruction…

An inquiry attempted to build an agenda for research that would result in a cognitive theory of instruction capable of informing educational practice and extending the limits of knowledge about how people learn and develop. What would such a theory look like, how close are we to having one, and what directions must be followed to further its…

Teacher questions have been the subject of a substantial amount of research and analysis in recent years. Debate has centered around the appropriate use of this instructional and evaluative tool. A study examined the impact on student achievement of manipulating abstractness-concreteness, independent of cognitive level, in achievement test items.…

The purpose of this study was threefold: to determine whether adding a mnemonic to systematically designed instruction would improve verbal retention, to establish whether retention is better for concrete or abstract information, and to determine whether mental imagery or verbal elaboration is more effective for learning concrete or abstract…

To determine if students learn better in a teaching situation that emphasizes their positive involvement and decreases the emotional threat to their self-esteem produced by the traditional question-answer approach, a study was conducted to compare the average achievement levels of two groups of literature students--one taught traditionally to…

An examination was made into the problems of development of creative reasoning. Historical comments regarding the probable development of creative thought were amplified by glimpses into the lives of several mythical prehistoric characters. Contemporary classroom techniques designed to stimulate creative thought were presented for use in the areas…

Ten remedial mathematics exercises are provided for children who have failed to integrate or apply their math skills. The exercises provide remediation through systematic experimentation, rather than abstract drills, by using number-configuration distinction with blocks, fractioned candy bars, decimal match sticks, graphed pictures, etc. (JDD)

Argues that students should exercise criticism in the classroom, but this criticism should not take the form of mere training in technical skills, indoctrination into a particular conceptual system, or theoretical speculation ungrounded in reality. (SRT)

This study addressed the question: "What instructional techniques are most effective in helping students learn how to self-regulate their learning?" An integrated model based on current research in self-regulated learning (SRL) was used to explain changes in students' SRL. Five key instructional practices were identified and embedded…

Presents a qualitative analysis of a transcript of a critical-thinking reading lesson designed for sixth grade students. The analysis illustrates the relationship between critical thinking and reading comprehension and demonstrates that critical thinking can be promoted in everyday classroom instruction using regular classroom materials. (JD)