Competence in algebra is linked to access to higher education, employment in better-paying jobs, and, increasingly, the ability to earn a high school diploma. For many students with learning disabilities, developing proficiency in algebra represents a challenging, but necessary goal. Teachers of students with learning disabilities need access to…

Students learn important concepts and ways of thinking by building on their own actions and experiences. In much of higher education, the primacy of textbooks and the lectures that accompany them are inconsistent with the nature of student learning. Some students manage to learn despite the problems from this emphasis, but educators can do much…

A number of college students in forensic debate may be deterred from debating broad topics due to a lack of appropriate cognitive development and a perception of unacceptable certainty. These students have failed to develop formal thinking patterns because they lack reinforcing experiences in reasoning at that level. A sequenced pattern of…

Presents the theory that rhetorical modes taught in developmental writing courses parallel the process of human cognitive development. Describes the teaching strategies and competencies incorporated in a developmental writing course which proceeds sequentially from description through analysis, comparison, classification, and cause and effect. (JP)

Drawing from basic assumptions about learning and critical thinking skills, this paper suggests a teaching method for helping community college students to use their critical thinking capacity in their college courses. First, a series of assumptions commonly held by teachers about the nature of learning are presented, and contrasted with…

The experiments reviewed in this paper give strong reasons for concluding that the order in which things are learned, the range of exemplification of structural principles, and the introduction of a carefully judged amount of conflict may be critical to reaching an appropriate kind and level of learning. (Author/SJL)

This article describes methods for teaching higher level thinking skills to children. A four-step teaching plan utilizing Beyer's Taxonomy of thinking skills provides a sequential technique for teaching these skills as do increased verbal interaction, skillful questioning, and use of knowledge organizers. The I PLAN strategy can aid decision…

This study evaluated the generally recommended concrete-to-abstract hierarchy for presenting a new skill, with three students with learning disabilities in grades 1, 2, and 4. The three subjects enrolled in the Multidisciplinary Diagnostic and Training Program's classroom housed on the University of Florida campus in Gainesville. Following…

Research conducted at the Institute of General and Pedagogical Psychology of Moscow, and based on the premise that the development of thought processes is a direct product of the social environment, is described. As a corollary to this premise, Piaget's view that the development of the thinking process occurs in orderly fashion is questioned.…

This study compared the effectiveness of teaching multidigit addition of whole numbers without regrouping prior to teaching it with regrouping to teaching multidigit addition with and without regrouping simultaneously. Pretest/posttest-delayed posttest results of second grade students (n=151) from seven randomly assigned classrooms indicated no…

This article presents 10 practical teaching procedures to encourage students to develop formal reasoning skills. A twelfth-grade English course is used as an example. Procedures include pretesting, sequencing instruction, providing students with concrete experiences, discussing reasoning patterns and forms of argumentation, assigning argumentative…

Examines the relationship between teaching content or knowledge, and teaching the skills of critical thinking and problem solving. Presents key strategies to help students understand and develop critical thinking skills. Recommends use of the developmental lesson and provides several model lessons. (LS)

Proposed is a model for basic preconditions for "the design of effective programs in developmental learning." Such a program should include (1) a continuous psychocognitive diagnosis and assessment of each child; (2) a structured, coherent, sequential approach to content area; (3) a focus on symbolic manipulation and the essentials of a concept;…

Reviews theoretical frameworks and psychological processes underlying the perception and cognition of musical understanding. Suggests unifying ideas and processes based on a developmental learning framework applied to teaching methods and curriculum. Supplies six guidelines for music education practitioners who are sequencing learning activities…