This paper reports on a study as one aspect of research being conducted to document ways the Arts Connections Program (Cincinnati, Ohio) makes a difference in student learning. The study examines the effects of Arts Connections on higher order thinking and learning to learn skills of sixth-grade students (n=27) in 2 classrooms. One classroom, the…

A study examined whether the higher-order thinking patterns elicited by a reader response approach would carry over and become part of students' ways of thinking about literature, even in the absence of reader response prompts. Subjects were fourth-grade students (48 in all) in two intact, heterogeneously grouped classrooms in the same elementary…

Examined relatedness of field-dependence to tasks of cognitive ability and academic achievement in 60 Anglo-American and 60 Mexican-American fourth graders. Results show a strong relationship with a nonverbal test of reasoning ability and measures of reading and mathematics achievement. Ethnic differences in field dependence are not found. (SLD)

A study examined the effectiveness of research strategy instruction that is integrated with the demands of inquiry-based content-area projects, rather than the typical teaching of research-related skills out of context. The study was conducted at two elementary schools, one a Title I school with a high percentage of poor readers, the other a…

The development of a powerful learning environment aiming at the acquisition and transfer of general thinking skills through learning to program in LOGO was studied. The following conditions were sought: (1) sufficient knowledge of the LOGO primitives and concepts; (2) mastery of the thinking skills within the programming context; and (3) explicit…

Contrasted effects of Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) program to those of Chapter 1 programs on fourth and fifth graders' reading achievement, self-concept, and higher-order thinking skills. Found that HOTS is more effective in raising self-concept and some higher-order thinking skills in fifth grade and after two years of treatment, with…

Explores the relationship between teaching methods in elementary school social studies and development of critical thinking for 18 fifth and 18 sixth graders receiving direct instruction in critical thinking, contrasted with 17 fifth and 27 sixth graders traditionally instructed. Efficacy of direct instruction is not demonstrated. (SLD)

Examined relationship between the cognitive demands of instruction and student motivation in fifth-, sixth-, and seventh-grade mathematics classrooms. Found through observation and survey data that sixth- and seventh-grade math lessons were characterized by significantly fewer elements of higher-order thinking than fifth-grade math lessons, and…

Discussion of computer literacy, database technology, and higher-order thinking skills focuses on a study that compared the problem-solving performance of fourth-grade students receiving search strategy training during computer-assisted instruction with students who did not receive training. Time spent on problems and the number of correct answers…

High ability, average, and learning-disabled children in grades 4 and 7 were assessed on achievement, ability, perceived competence in cognitive ability, self-concept, and locus of control. Results indicated significant group differences on achievement and affective measures which were relatively stable and unaffected by cognitive strategies…

To analyze a student's conceptual changes, analyzing transcriptions of writing and verbal statements may not provide enough information. In a study of 25 sixth graders learning about matter and molecules, concept mapping of students' stated ideas was used to analyze the kinds of organizational changes the students made to use new science…