The development of tools for testing the abilities of students in "interpreting data" is discussed. A longitudinal and cross-sectional study of the responses of examinees and the application of SOLO Taxonomy for the design of structured questions to classify the level of performance of examinees were used to select indicative items. (KR)

Compared are the van Hiele levels of geometric thinking and the geometry curriculum recommended by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics Curriculum and Evaluation Standards for School Mathematics. Activities which illustrate the various levels are provided by grade level with procedures. (CW)

Discussed is an alternative teaching strategy to uncover and assess a common misconception in the life sciences and to articulate its use in teaching a unit on angiosperm reproduction. The learning cycle is described, and a concept map on reproduction on angiosperms is included. (KR)

A battery of questionnaires administered to 121 male and female high school freshmen, college freshmen, and college seniors provided evidence that the greater role conflict experienced by females fosters earlier relativistic and/or dialectical reasoning and more differentiated role articulation regarding family and career issues. (DM)

Examines three approaches to fostering higher level thinking in students: (1) the stand-alone approach; (2) the embedding approach; and (3) the immersion approach. The first two approaches teach thinking skills separately from or in the context of subject matter content; the immersion approach assigns an active role to perception and downplays…

Argues for expanding the present discourse on developmental appropriateness on the grounds that this discourse assumes consensus about child development; is premised on a suspect notion of broad, universal stages; and ignores alternative perspectives on learning and development and the relationship between the two. (LB)

A study of middle-class mothers who reported teaching their children cognitive and academic, and social and life, skills shows differences in the relative emphasis on each. Results also suggest a need to increase parent education programs on fostering metacognition. (Author/LB)

A total of 30 kindergarten and second, fourth, and sixth grade students from Taiwan and the United States were asked to make category inclusion and typicality judgments for 6 categories. Findings suggested that cultural familiarity with instances plays an important role in the development of category knowledge. (RH)

Longitudinal data on conversations recorded from 1 child between 18 and 27 months of age and 3 children between 27 and 62 months were analyzed to chart acquisition of the word "if" and of conditional inference. Within six months of speaking their first "if," children produced "ifs" at the same rate and forms as…

An experimental design study compared the effect of periodic use of the "Geometric Supposers" software to nonuse on geometry achievement of two tenth grade classes (n=58). Results suggest that "Geometric Supposers" promotes higher achievement, particularly on Higher Level and Application Problems. No difference on Lower Level…

Examined students' opportunities to use thinking skills in physical education programs. Results indicated that teachers used deductive and inductive strategies to encourage student metacognition. Teachers encouraged students to focus attention, compare, and analyze. (BC)

Mothers of 23 infants with disabilities predicted their child's performance on developmental measures with accuracy levels comparable to those of parents of preschool children without disabilities. Mothers were more accurate in predicting motor performance than cognitive performance. There was a negative relationship between initial maternal…

Reports an experimental study of 80 ninth grade biology students randomly assigned to treatment and control groups to determine whether the use of human examples in instructional strategies on Mendelian genetics increases acquisition and retention of genetics concepts. Results indicate that use of human examples in contrast to traditional examples…

Ties together the educational threads of teaching thinking skills and improving the intellectual performance in deaf learners. Identifies six criteria for curriculum or research decisions related to teaching for higher-level problem solving. Applications of these ideas to mathematics are left to the reader. (MDH)

Discusses an award winning elementary economics education program at an Atlanta (Georgia) innercity school. Describes the program goal of developing a sense of economic empowerment for each student. Includes information on the program structure, implementation, curriculum, impact, and evaluation. Reports that the program has had a positive effect…