One of the arguments for active externalism (also known as the extended mind thesis) is that if a process counts as cognitive when it is performed in the head, it should also count as cognitive when it is performed in the world. Consequently, mind extends into the world. I argue for a corollary: We sometimes perform actions in our heads that we…

The Magic Mathworks Travelling Circus is a touring maths lab--in and of itself, a good thing. When children enter it, they find particular pieces of apparatus captioned with particular challenges--which is perhaps not such a good thing. Students are faced with an apparatus that can do only one thing, and so are not encouraged to look again at…

Dynamic inquiry learning emphasizes aspects of change, intellectual flexibility, and critical thinking. Dynamic inquiry learning is characterized by the following criteria: learning as a process, changes during the inquiry, procedural understanding, and affective points of view. This study compared the influence of open versus guided inquiry…

Defines and characterizes the steps involved in thinking creatively, pointing out numerous contraditions about creative thinking. (RB)

Creativity theory supports the conclusion that when a person recognizes the isomorphism in an analogic construct, that insight is the essentially creative act. Infraconscious mentation is more likely to produce insightful analogies than is rigorous, willful, consciously rational mentation, because infraconscious mentation, operating in the mode of…

BECAUSE OF THE EVER INCREASING EXPANSION OF KNOWLEDGE AND CULTURAL CHANGES, TEACHING CHILDREN TO DISCOVER (DEFINED HERE AS THE ACQUISITION OF AN ABILITY TO FORMULATE AND SOLVE PROBLEMS) SHOULD BE GIVEN CONSIDERABLE SIGNIFICANCE AS AN EDUCATIONAL GOAL. THE PURPOSE OF THIS REPORT IS (1) TO CLARIFY CERTAIN ASPECTS OF TEACHING CHILDREN TO DISCOVER,…

Documents the search for an adequate conceptualization of writing and argues for the inclusion of personal experiences with composition as the basis for any teaching or research activity. (SRT)

Describes the learning experiences of three kindergarten students, providing an account of their teacher overcoming prejudice toward computers. (BJD)

Compares the performances of college students in an inquiry approach chemistry laboratory to those in a conventional laboratory. During one of three semesters studied, all analyses of eight pretests and posttests significantly favored the experimental group. Concludes that in a variety of actual learning situations the inquiry method results in…

Describes an experiment which relies on the experimentation-discovery method of learning. (SB)

Personal evaluation of the use of a personal diary to identify conscious learning. (RB)

Discusses the pitfalls of wholesale adoption of fashionable educational methods in general, and inquiry in particular. (JB)

Very often a scientist is inspired to the point of discovering previously unknown principles. This inspiration, however, would probably not come to him if he were not already knowledgeable in the context in which the discovery would have significance. (CK)