Argues for a new approach to empirical work which focuses on classroom thoughtfulness. Proposes a conception of higher-order thinking that synthesizes theoretical literature with the views of practitioners. Offers a conceptual basis for empirical study of classrooms, teachers, students, and institutional leaders. (GG)

Reviews research on children's knowledge of politics. Covers research on authority figures, national symbols, national identity and geographic location, international politics, and peace and war. Three theoretical frameworks for understanding children's political thinking are discussed. Lists 39 references. (RJC)

The article outlines a six-category knowledge framework for effective teachers, involving general liberal education, personal performance, subject matter, general pedagogical knowledge, subject-matter-specific pedagogical knowledge, and foundations of the teaching profession, and suggests how preservice education can incorporate some of the…

Investigated egocentricity and ascriptions of knowledge to others in 45 children of 3-6 years. Six-year-olds were better than younger children at assessing the other's knowledge. Subjects were better at assessing the other's knowledge when their own access and knowledge were identical. (RJC)

The Multiple Menu Model is a practical set of planning guides that can assist developers of curriculum for gifted students to combine content with instructional strategies. Planning menus in the areas of knowledge, instructional objectives, student activities, instructional strategies, instructional sequences, and artistic modification and a…

Reports a study designed to investigate the relationship between nuclear knowledge and nuclear attitudes and to the understanding of Science-Technology-Society attitudes involving technological attitude objects. Principal finding was that nuclear knowledge and nuclear attitude each can be changed independently of the other. Although knowledge and…

Referent structures produced by the instructor, other experts, averaged experts, and the best students were compared with those of 71 college students for their ability to predict examination performance in computer-programming courses and to differentiate among levels of expertise. Differences among expert referents are discussed. (SLD)

An extension of the multidimensional Rasch model for learning and change is presented that permits theories of processes and knowledge structures to be incorporated into the item response model. The extension resolves basic problems in measuring change and permits adaptive testing. The method is illustrated in a study of mathematical problem…

Unmarried heterosexual college students' human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) knowledge, attitudes, risk perception, and sexual behavior were assessed before and after Magic Johnson's HIV-positive serostatus disclosure. After the disclosure, students showed small increases in HIV knowledge scores, but their attitudes, risk perceptions, and sexual…

Documents the effects of training in behavioral consultation on 17 school psychology graduate students and on 44 client outcomes. Training focused on principles and mastery of applied behavioral therapy and consultation, relationship skills, and systems entry issues. Consultees and consultants expressed overall consumer satisfaction with the…

Assessed perceptions of graduate students in student affairs regarding their interracial experiences, knowledge, and skills. Master's degree students (n=453) from 28 student affairs preparation programs reported limited experiences and knowledge about persons of color, yet comfort with their skill level in working with visible racial and ethnic…

Knowledge and attitudes about Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) were compared for 167 public high school students, 166 incarcerated adolescents, and 151 emotionally disturbed adolescents. AIDS knowledge was moderately high for all, but misunderstandings about transmission and high-risk behaviors were noted. Teenagers with emotional…

Explores the impact of having a hearing-impaired peer on preschool children's understanding of hearing and deafness, comparing children with and without a hearing-impaired peer. All children referred to their own experiences to explain hearing loss. Children with a hearing-impaired classmate understood sign language and the consequences of hearing…

Details a study of the need or wisdom of universities and colleges to include lab sections of courses that are offered to teach software. No significant difference was found in the knowledge gained for those students who participated in the lab in addition to the lecture/demonstration, but the students who participated in the lab completed their…

Examined moral reasoning and sexual behavior. Results supported two hypotheses: (1) risk-taking sexual behavior was inversely correlated with moral reasoning; and (2) for high moral reasoners, two measures of sexual risk taking were negatively correlated with knowledge about AIDS: as knowledge increased, risk taking during sexual intercourse…