Unless sensitized to avoid them, Ss (regardless of grade) tended to draw overly sweeping inferences, perhaps because of a need for closure. Older Ss, however, were more successful at suspending judgment when no definite conclusion was justified. (Author/DLS)

Joshua Gunn calls for the creation of a new post-humanist, -Marxist, -Freudian approach to rhetorical criticism that would combine literary, critical, and psychoanalytic methods in a new "popular imaginary" paradigm. While urging acceptance of his new paradigm, Gunn advances three major criticisms of symbolic convergence theory (SCT): (1) SCT is…

Arguments between response to intervention (RTI) with curriculum-based measurement (CBM) and traditional, individual psychoeducational assessments encourage a false dichotomy between alternatives that are not mutually exclusive, but complementary. This article discusses strengths and weaknesses of both approaches, touches on current legislative…

Results yielded three hierarchical factors, two that were moderately related to IQ and MA and one that was independent of IQ and MA. Explanation of the findings was based on a consideration of the differences between divergent and convergent production abilities. (Author)

Explores the conditional nature of good and bad news while focusing on three topics: (1) the status of information as news according the participants in a conversation; (2) the valence of this information with regard to its perception as good or bad; and (3) the effect of news on individuals. Notes that good news is privileged over bad news in…

Describes the use of triangulation in research, a process that uses multiple measures or methods to examine a research question where a single data set would not be appropriate. Topics discussed include reliability; validity; concurrent validity; convergence; and problems in using analysis of variance as the only method to obtain data. (13…

Universal design (UD), a concept from the field of architecture, is increasingly evident in discussions of approaches to enhance educational access for students with disabilities. Several emerging models of educational applications of UD--Universal Design for Learning, Universal Design for Instruction, and Universal Instructional Design--are…

The cognition theories of Piaget as they apply to adults are examined in the light of new theories about the characteristics of formal reasoning abilities and their acquisition over a long life span. (JD)

A literature review both affirms and denies a relationship between creativity and public school achievement. A study involving 116 students from grades 6, 8, and 10 found that high levels of creative ability may contribute to a pattern of underachievement by interfering with convergent thinking within the time constraints of a regular classroom…

In a review of the challenges to progress in providing social research evidence that might usefully inform policy, Oakley (2004) argues strongly that the "paradigm divide" between qualitative and quantitative research communities continues to constitute a major problem. Oakley refers to a number of recent critiques of what is seen as "misplaced…

A study examining the performance of college freshmen trained in thinking skills and the relationship of this training to scores on an intelligence scale indicates that groups taught divergent thinking skills scored significantly higher in a comprehension subtest than did groups taught convergent thinking skills or the control group. (Author/CB)

Eighty preschoolers participated in a study of the usefulness of the lure-retrieval paradigm. Four treatment conditions were compared: In addition to play and training conditions, a questions condition and an alternative-materials control group were employed. Results prompted discussion of theoretical and methodological issues surrounding the…

Discusses some critical aspects of divergent and convergent thinking, examining attributes of the public school environment that apparently foster convergent thinking and addressing the microcomputer's potential as an instrument for fostering divergent cognitive styles. (MP)

Two experiments were conducted to examine behaviors that characterize play with convergent and divergent materials and the effects of play on convergent and divergent problem solving among 64 3- and 4-year-olds. (Author/RH)

Examines research which was performed in order to investigate, in the context of colleges of further education, the relationship between performance on divergent and convergent thinking tests and between performance on divergent thinking tests and academic attainment. (CT)