Maintains that good decisions depend on beginning with good information and applying logical reasoning to it. Contends that texts and instruction in critical thinking provide students with limited guidance on selecting credible sources. Presents and discusses seven criteria for selecting credible sources. (CFR)

Maintains that literacy and informed decision making in an uncertain world require the ability to reason statistically. Describes a course designed to help students use statistical concepts as tools for social reasoning within simulations of real-world problems. Describes four types of instructional activities used. (CFR)

Maintains that the history of psychology course is a common capstone course in the undergraduate psychology curriculum. Describes exercises designed to encourage active learning and critical thinking. Presents basic steps in completing the exercises and students' reactions to them. (CFR)

Reports on a study of the impact of metacognition among 10 middle school-aged British students with learning difficulties. Finds that student awareness and subsequent control over thought processes were enhanced through self-reporting and self-appraisal. Examines this kind of reflection on enhanced learning capabilities and self-esteem. (CFR)

Reviews studies suggesting benefits of block play for literacy development that provides actual reading and writing experiences. Suggests that block play centers can be literacy-enhanced with materials that are authentic, useful, and appropriate, including: thematic books, magazines, architectural blueprints, envelopes, and adding machine tape.…

Twenty-one impulsive fifth and sixth graders with low academic achievement were assigned to (1) self-instruction (SI) training; (2) problem solving (PS) training; or (3) a control condition. SI and PS training produced improvement in impulsivity and achievement, but only the impulsivity decrease was maintained at six months. (SLD)

The influence of different media on the interpretations of stories was examined in 2 studies involving 2 fifth graders and 83 fifth grade high and low achievers. Results with print media and video media suggest that the interpretive process may be similar across different media presentations. (SLD)

This study examines the effect of the "Technical Troubleshooting Tutor," a computer-coached training program, on aircraft electrical system troubleshooting. Performance ability differences between control groups are noted, and troubleshooting models and flow diagram examples are included. The study demonstrates the possibilities for…

A study of 21 experienced non-mathematics teachers reflections on learning two mathematical concepts was conducted to examine ways that students process teacher explanations. Notebook and transcript extracts of the lessons indicated that the participants made a continued effort to assign meaning to the new material, experienced anxiety, and that…

How people evaluate primary and secondary sources when considering historical questions was studied by asking eight historians and eight high school seniors to think aloud while reviewing written and pictorial documents about the Battle of Lexington. Differences between the groups are discussed concerning cognitive processes and beliefs about…

Discusses the potential that school mathematics has for being a source of exploration and discovery for students and teachers. Provides a process-oriented definition of understanding mathematics. Presents activities in which students construct computer and actual models of polyhedra and make conjectures regarding a medical research application of…

Examines the influence of two factors of the process of graphing on rural students' (n=93) ability to comprehend kinematics graphs on constant velocity events. Students exhibited difficulty in constructing and comprehending graphs of derived variables and were unaware of their own graphing skills deficiencies. (34 references) (MDH)

Explored one student teacher's ideas and practices, together with the messages about teaching for procedural and conceptual knowledge that were presented by the student's teacher education program. Found that the student teacher taught, learned to teach, and had opportunities to learn to teach for procedural knowledge more often and more…

Asserts that the whole-language approach is a philosophy of learning in which children construct knowledge by actively engaging in classroom projects that have real meaning for them. Describes thematic studies using a whole-language approach in which children (with teacher assistance) decide what themes will be studied. (CFR)

Contends that an integrated curriculum approach increases student motivation and makes learning easier because lessons have wider applications. Suggests that discipline-based art education promotes an interdisciplinary approach, particularly with social studies and language arts. Provides an example of an instructional unit combining social…