This study evaluated the generally recommended concrete-to-abstract hierarchy for presenting a new skill, with three students with learning disabilities in grades 1, 2, and 4. The three subjects enrolled in the Multidisciplinary Diagnostic and Training Program's classroom housed on the University of Florida campus in Gainesville. Following…

The need for developing cognitive skills in early adolescents as they move from concrete thinking to more abstract operations has been documented. College students seeking the middle school endorsement in education were trained to utilize matrices as graphic constructs of textual materials. By examining these content matrices, prepracticum…

Research conducted at the Institute of General and Pedagogical Psychology of Moscow, and based on the premise that the development of thought processes is a direct product of the social environment, is described. As a corollary to this premise, Piaget's view that the development of the thinking process occurs in orderly fashion is questioned.…

The roles of (1) the sequence of instruction and (2) cognitive ability variables were investigated using a computer-assisted instruction (CAI) course on an imaginary science of "Xenograde systems." A rationale for an information processing task analysis was developed to overcome the deficiencies of other analytic methods. The new method was found…

Examines students' difficulties in reading literature and suggests methods for helping them to develop and improve skills necessary for the mature reading of literature. (MM)

In the light of significant changes in contemporary society that demand high level thinking skills of professional workers, this monograph explores the nature of independent thinking and principles of teaching independent thinking, particularly to college freshmen. A section on independent thinking outlines abstract, creative, and systematic…

Theories of situated learning attempt to overcome the ill-structured nature of some domains of learning, and to use students' tendencies to construct knowledge representation on context and prior experience. Success comes when students apply abstract principles to real life. This study compares the effectiveness of two different lesson structures…

This monograph sets forth a theoretical basis for advocating a program of disciplinary arts education as an integral part of general education from kindergarten through grade 12. The title, "The Role of Imagery in Learning," indicates the centrality of aesthetic perception of images. To make the case, it is necessary to show by analysis,…

Effective teaching strategies must be developed to help students bridge the gap between concrete operational thinking and full formal thinking in the content areas. Reading for meaning requires readers to categorize subjects, recognize relationships, develop and maintain a sequence of thought, recognize and understand inferences, and draw…

This manual was developed to provide guidance to individuals working in Project SOAR (Stress on Analytical Reasoning), a pre-freshman summer program for science majors anticipating matriculation at Xavier University of Louisiana. Following an overview of Xavier University and Project SOAR and an outline of general instructions, specific…

The learning of different school subjects (history, English, poetry appreciation, creative writing, reading, elementary school mathematics, geography, and modern languages) can be evaluated qualitatively, using the Structure of the Observed Learning Outcome (SOLO) Taxonomy. The taxonomy is structured into five major levels, with transitional…

This document, based on mathematical research conducted by the Instituto Colombiano de Pedagogia, is the first in a series of scheduled publications designed to report recent findings to teachers and to offer new methodological guidelines in teaching math. This document suggests elementary-level learning activities for helping the students develop…

Describes three activities that the teacher can employ to help students develop thinking skills through mathematics instruction: (1) memorization using the technique of chunking; (2) higher order thinking with magic squares; and (3) predicting games. Identifies eight facets of the teacher's role in promoting thinking skills. (MDH)

Most schools are unwilling to consider decreasing computer use at school because they fear that without screen time, students will not be prepared for the demands of a high-tech 21st century. Monke argues that having young children spend a significant amount of time on computers in school is harmful, particularly when children spend so much…

The majority of undergraduates lack advanced reasoning patterns, which are necessary for significant achievement in college science courses. The purpose of this paper is to review the studies of various instructional practices in introductory college biology courses that claim to develop reasoning. Most of these were non-traditional,…