Examined two groups of applicants with disabilities to determine counselors' judgments about limitations in functional capabilities. Ratings of applicants' functional limitations were partially explained by three latent dimensions derived from applicants' personal history information. Implications for the conduct of the eligibility determination…

Third in a series of columns focusing on teaching students to think critically, this column provides three templates useful in helping students practice analyzing and assessing the logic of a text. Discusses how to analyze an article, essay, or chapter; comprehend the logic of a textbook; and evaluate an author's reasoning. (NB)

Examines the ways in which reflection leads to better decision making and better administration. Discusses the following three sources of knowledge available to administrators who choose to enhance their effectiveness through reflection: (1) theoretical; (2) empirical; and (3) experiential. Examines the integration of knowledge and action through…

Presents a unit designed to develop critical reading skills. Establishes goals and lists topics for consideration, such as understanding cause and effect relationships, distinguishing fact from opinion, identifying propaganda techniques, distinguishing relevant from irrelevant information, and recognizing bias giving examples of each. (NL)

Tested effectiveness of parent training to facilitate adolescent child's decision-making ability. Results showed that trained parents (N=83) showed greater empathic and decision-making skills than did controls (N=39). Notes mothers performed higher on skills than fathers although both acquired skills equally well. Findings suggest implications for…

Considers how high school students perceive incidents of possible sexual harassment toward students and how they define sexual harassment. Scenario evaluations by 35 male and 38 female students of various ethnic groups demonstrated that type of harassment, status of the originator, and gender composition of the dyad affect severity ratings. (SLD)

Examines people's behavior in the Monty Hall Dilemma (MHD), in which a person must make two decisions to win a prize. In a series of five studies, found that people misapprehend probabilities in the MHD. Discusses the MHD's relation to illusion of control, belief perseverance, and the status quo bias. (RJM)

The problem-solving difficulties of Nigerian preservice chemistry teachers (n=300) were investigated. The results from written tests and an interview show students were capable of constructing mental representations but not solution plans; had inappropriate approaches and strategies; exhibited structural errors relating to a disregard of given…

Students (n=107) in grades 4-6 were administered tests of evaluative ability and divergent thinking. Results indicated that evaluative abilities can be reliably assessed and that there was a significant relationship between divergent thinking and evaluative skill. The evaluative measures were negatively correlated with intelligence test scores.…

Presents an investigation into situational characteristics and their relationship to factors affecting graduate students' judgments of the relevance of information; proposes new student orientation as an exercise in information retrieval; and explains a process model of socialization to meet new students' information needs. (Contains 14…

The relationship between argumentation and informal reasoning is discussed, followed by a consideration of instructional factors that influence argumentation performance. An account of one expert student reasoner is provided. Instruction in argumentation is reviewed, and suggestions are made for argumentation based on classroom experience. (SLD)

Suggests teaching modes of thought other than the scientifically based theoretical mode. Urges teaching students to nurture practical thinking. Describes a case study of a program of Israel studies in Israelis Jewish schools that includes a variety of disciplines. Offers a plan for monthly conferences organized by students with assistance from…

The accuracy of 210 college undergraduates' judgments of the relative learnability of original (Army training manuals) and rewritten (war or cultural histories) versions of 20 pairs of texts of known difficulty was studied. Students were 95 percent accurate in their judgments of learnability. Implications for college textbook selection are…

A theory of the updating of beliefs over time is presented that explicitly accounts for order-effect phenomena as arising from the interaction of information-processing strategies and task characteristics. The belief-adjustment model is supported by 5 experiments involving 192 adult subjects. (SLD)

The development of understanding of Biblical parables on the part of 28 Swiss subjects of 7 to 50 years of age was studied. It was found that Biblical parables were interpreted through the lens of one's stage of religious judgment in the manner described by Oser's and Gmunder's (1988) model. (BB)