The author began his first year teaching at an open-enrollment university with the belief that "most students can learn to do intellectual work, if they are only given the opportunity." This belief is inspired by the research on teaching and learning and is rooted in the characteristic idealism of teachers. He had seen the principle borne out in…

Although the benefits of student-centered or collaborative learning are real, the arguments made for them often appear ideological rather than pedagogical and rather than encouraging diversity, require revision of fundamental aspects of cognitive personality. What is needed is a broad view of the variety in teachers' and students' intellectual…