Is the idea of the liberal university dead, has the postmodern university any chance of being emancipatory, has the theory-practice divide merely collapsed in an era of "new knowledge work", or has the university just become one aspect of market states and global capitalism? Knowledge-based economies locate universities as central to the…

Trouche's [Third Computer Algebra in Mathematics Education Symposiums, Reims, France, June 2003] presentation at the Third Computer Algebra in Mathematics Education Symposium focused on the notions of instrumental genesis and of orchestration: the former concerning the mutual transformation of learner and artefact in the course of constructing…

To study the developmental interrelationships among various aspects of logico-mathematical knowledge, 80 one- to 4-year-olds were individually asked to build "something tall" with 20 blocks. Percentages of new and significant behaviors increased with age and were analyzed in terms of the development of logico-mathematical relationships. It was…

This study documented the ways in which the spontaneous narratives of a focus group of young children reflected the ways in which these children constructed meaning about their world and their place in it. Participants were six kindergartners who engaged in extended episodes of imaginary, dramatic play and produced complex descriptive narratives…

One of the most basic theoretical areas in the study of visual communication and visual literacy is the nature of representation. Some of the important research in this area is reviewed in this paper, and a model of representation is developed that satisfies many of the philosophical concerns. The paper begins with a discussion on the relationship…

Two studies examined preschoolers' understanding of germs as causes of illness. Previous research suggests that preschoolers know that certain behaviors lead to illness without understanding why or how. In the first study, 22 children between 4 and 5 years old were presented with 12 brief stories describing characters engaged in either dangerous…

The problem of response set is important for questionnaire designers and interpreters, but the public is affected as well if policy is determined on the basis of unsupported conclusions. This study focused on one of the most researched response sets, extreme responding (ER), or extreme checking styles, and its relationship to one dimension of…

This study compared Chinese graduate students in the People's Republic of China (PRC) to Chinese graduate students in the United States (U.S.) in their analogical reasoning skills. Analogical reasoning was used because it requires multidimensional cognitive abilities. Subjects were 40 male and female Chinese graduate students who had graduated…

Forty-four middle and 44 lower SES children were given Piaget's provoked and spontaneous correspondence tests to see: (1) how they made correspondence, (2) if the idea of equivalent sets, once achieved, was retained after objects were regrouped destroying visible equivalence, and (3) if age, sex, and SES differences existed. Results indicated that…

Staff developers who have worked intensively with teachers to promote higher order thinking tend to emphasize similar types of training activities, especially involving teachers in higher order thinking and authentic problem solving in their subjects and translating ideas about the teaching of thinking into specific lessons for students.…

Three areas of the classical rhetoric of Aristotle, adapted for the modern discourse of inquiry and demonstration, provide a systematic framework for students to understand thought, investigation, and writing in other disciplines: aitia, kairos, and the enthymeme and the example. Aitia, or cause, has four aspects--the material cause, the formal…

This study hypothesized that subjects who display proportional responses on the Pouring Water Task have developed the ability to comprehend logical arguments of the form referred to as "reasoning to a contradiction," while subjects who display additive responses on the same task have not. To test this hypothesis, 100 additive and…

Since a discourse community may have its membership assigned both on the basis of speech or of writing, it follows that the concept of discourse community needs to be both medium-neutral and unconstrained by space and time. The defining characteristics of a discourse community might be (1) communality of interest, (2) mechanisms for…

Research involving cognitive modification and using intervention instruction in general prerequisite cognitive processes has shown that significant and long-term results are possible. Use of intervention instruction involving prerequisite data gathering skills with teachers has been successful in improving ability to use probing questions in…

In this brief review of current literature on developing critical thinking skills in prospective teachers, the focus is on how critical thinking can be taught and how emphasis on critical thinking will affect teacher education. Some programs are cited that promote critical thinking and references are included. (JD)