Discusses certain teachers' rejection of prepackaged curricula for infusion of critical thinking skills into their teaching. Observational learning develops thinking skills and deepens understanding of causality and responsibility, whether the context is the Battle of Lexington or Chicken Little's dilemma. Strong administrative support is needed…

This article focuses on curriculum analysis, an aspect of direct instruction that is frequently neglected or obscured by an emphasis on classroom management and teacher performance. Explicit strategies that are used to teach higher cognitive skills and the importance of teacher training in the appropriate use of direct instruction are discussed.…

Second-grade children were explicitly supplied with zero, one, two, or three components of information to specify the respective contributions of various sources and amounts of acquired strategy-utility information. Metacognitive knowledge was evidenced only when the training regiment included the complete set of critical metacognitive components.…

Building on the work of Piaget, this article examines how children explain scientific phenomena using simile and metaphor. Demonstrates the difficulty children have in constructing explanations which contain sufficient "semantic distance" to be effective. Contends that comparison-as-explanation may bid for a place among the basic…

Elementary school children need hands-on experiences to understand science concepts. Computers can be used to store and analyze data collected by students, but educators seem to agree that students need to manipulate data themselves to really comprehend their discoveries. (DF)

Based on the premise that meaningful learning in mathematics occurs when children link their understandings with the symbols and procedures they are taught, three places are identified where children can link symbols and their referents, procedural rules and conceptual knowledge, and answers to problems with other knowledge about what is…

Demonstrates how young children's learning of a completely novel route across a city district is enhanced by an accompanying adult making the child aware of potential landmarks. The importance of permanent and ephemeral landmarks in the child's verbal and modelled-map accounts of the route are discussed. (BC)

Examines various characteristics of: (1) science teaching; (2) children (including their misconceptions); and (3) the sciences. Suggestions related to these three areas are offered to improve the current condition of science education. (JN)

Describes the effectiveness of cooperative learning, a technique whereby paired students exchange oral summaries of materials they have read. (HOD)

Developing higher-level thinking skills in students has become an important goal of education. Several books are reviewed that help students apply and experience the thinking processes of fluency, flexibility, originality, and elaboration. (DF)

A study evaluated the retention level of three gymnastics skills learned by health and physical education students using either physical practice or a combination of mental and physical practice. Mental practice was found to have a positive effect on skill retention. Results and recommendations are offered. (DF)

Recognition of the importance of cognitive processes and appropriate learner strategies for achievement in psychomotor tasks is emphasized. A task analysis procedure is proposed to assist in determining strategies for learning. (MT)

Data from surveys of university students that utilized the Approaches to Studying inventory were analyzed to test the hypothesis that a curvilinear relationship exists between learning strategies and academic grades. However, none of the non-linear regression models investigated improved significantly on the explanatory power provided by the…

Exploratory data analysis (EDA) gives students a feel for the data being considered. Four applications of EDA are discussed: the use of displays, resistant statistics, transformations, and smoothing. (RM)

This study investigated how task strategies and attributions for success during mathematics learning influenced children's self-efficacy and skills. Attribution of success to high ability exerted the strongest influence on increases in self-efficacy. Implications for teaching are discussed. (Author/MT)