In light of the U.S. Senate's designation of March 15, 2016 as "National Speech and Debate Education Day" (S. Res. 398, 2016), it only seems fitting that "Communication Education" devote a special section to the role of speech and debate in civic education. Speech and debate have been at the heart of the communication…

Discusses three techniques for improving students' research skills: "I" research or personal history, skimming and notetaking in library research, and interviewing. (HTH)

Describes "inductive towers," a visual medium for inductive thinking in secondary classrooms. Argues that teachers can use inductive towers to show how theories are formed in the social sciences. Explains how students can build inductive towers to practice inductive thinking, analyze information, or organize information-gathering in a…

This research guide is designed to help teachers and students organize their thoughts as they begin to plan and carry out a research assignment where they review and use the resources of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Library and Museum (Hyde Park, New York) or other resources for specific projects. The guide is divided into five sections: (1) the…

This article contains suggestions which secondary history teachers can implement to teach students how to prepare and write a problem-centered research essay in United States history. By applying sound research methodologies to a historical question students develop critical thinking skills. (Author/RM)

Discusses the Internet as a resource for secondary school students and describes a three-day Internet Information Literacy unit that is designed to improve students' critical thinking skills in using the Internet. Considers reliability problems, evaluation criteria, navigation problems, and effective research strategies. (LRW)

Discusses a school district's plan to introduce into the curriculum civic writing activities directly linked to local history and community issues. Suggests that writing can stimulate students' civic responsibility through the academic skills of research and critical thinking. Addresses planning, implementation, assessment, and recommendations.…

Provides a detailed description of a pilot project designed to develop critical thinking and writing skills in secondary school students. Activities involved in the process include online searching, writing abstracts and research papers, developing bibliographies, and using word processing equipment. Related article appeared in June 1986 issue of…

Describes a "scavenger hunt" approach to teaching research and critical thinking skills to high school and college students. Students are provided with lists of challenging questions, supporting materials (cartoons, quotations, odd facts and humorous excerpts), and clues for developing a research strategy. Examples of questions, clues…

The Springs task, an individually administered measure of ability to criticize and control experiments, is described. The task has characteristics similar to Inhelder and Piaget's Bending Rods task; it yields scores on naming variables, controlling variables, and analyzing experiments. (See also RIE: ED 163 092.) (JKS)

Describes a high school history class project designed to simultaneously teach students about Napoleon and introduce them to the practice of historical inquiry. Students viewed four data sets reflecting various aspects of Napoleon's life (e.g. military victories, domestic policy). Worksheets and writing assignments reiterated the importance of…

This guide, one of a series designed to aid social studies teachers, deals with methods for providing for the academically talented. After pointing out the problems of identification, basic principles for special to regular class programs are discussed. Suggested activities and methods for the social studies cover the areas of reading, creative…

Intended for college or secondary school teachers of courses beyond the basic level in freshman English and composition, this course description treats components of composition for critical thinking, including semantics, tone, logic, and argumentation, and their application to writing critical, argumentative, and research papers. The introduction…