Drawn largely from the experiences of Bloomfield College (Illinois) with its Freshman Core Program, but citing other efforts to develop thinking skills as well, this essay considers several questions and issues concerning the cognitive skills approach to teaching. The paper begins by identifying some of the increasingly common learning problems which have stimulated interest in the cognitive skills approach in higher education. The next section of the paper explains that the cognitive skills approach grows out of a developmental view of knowledge; it seeks to develop intelligence by utilizing an active, problem-solving approach to classroom activities. Next, several methods of teaching cognitive skills are introduced and distinctive features of the approach are enumerated (e.g., intense verbal interaction, student-oriented instruction, motivation of students to learn, and a developmental emphasis). The following section of the paper focuses on training teachers to effectively use the cognitive skills approach, describing several faculty development efforts. A rationale for implementing the approach precedes a discussion of methods of evaluating its effectiveness. The final section outlines problems that threaten the effective continuation of the use of the cognitive skills approach at Bloomfield College. (AYC)