A response to the opinion by John Baer that teaching thinking puts able thinkers at risk. The chances are greater that educators may retreat from teaching thinking if they are uncertain about the importance and possibility thereof than that able students will be harmed by efforts to help them. (Author/TE)

Evidence from the Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) program suggests that at-risk students show little understanding of content without first receiving concentrated instruction in understanding itself. Teaching thinking skills to at-risk students requires a thinking environment, consisting of exploratory conversations, stimulation of curiosity,…

Examines the cognitive effects of learning to program versus programming as it is experienced in introductory classes. Research studies that have analyzed the cognitive demands of programming are reviewed and criticized, problems of transfer of programming skills are discussed, and 42 references are provided. (LRW)

Focuses on students' immediate behavioral and cognitive responses and short-term outcomes during seatwork tasks. Twenty-four first graders in six classrooms were observed for the (1) apparent focus of attention, (2) nature of involvement with instructional stimuli, (3) initiative taken to seek help, (4) level of success, and (5) perceptions of…

The first and founding conference of the European Association for Research on Learning and Instruction was held in Belgium from June 10-13, 1985. This article concentrates on highlights that suggest intersections between three of the six conference themes: problem-solving; cognition-motivation interaction; and individual differences. Conference…

Investigated spatial thinking abilities of sixth- and tenth-grade students from two locales--a school on the Navajo reservation and schools in Mesa, Arizona. Overall findings support the contention that there were no substantial time delays or advances in development of selected spatial abilities of Navajo students compared to parallel non-Indian…

This research examined the relationships between ego functioning in adolescence and two domains of operational thinking: social interpersonal reasoning and physical-mathematical reasoning in 139 high school seniors. Results indicated significant differences between males and females in patterns of correlations and in patterns of relationships in a…

Eleven retarded children with mental ages (MA) less than 4.5 years were examined to evaluate whether there is a critical MA for learning basic counting principles and how an understanding of counting develops. Results are discussed in terms of individual needs. (MNS)

Despite evidence that researchers seek information by intuitive, illogical means, librarians approach research in a static, product-oriented way. In performing searches for scholars, librarians need to understand the organic nature of research and facilitate online searching's capability to enhance that process. (CDD)

Because visual short-term memory deficits are common in children with reading problems, a series of experiments were reviewed which examined the role of phonological processes in short-term memory. Results suggest that both developmental and individual differences in verbal memory span are related to efficient phonological processes. (Author/DB)

The content and approach of study skills courses are critiqued and alternatives are suggested. It is proposed that an approach providing students with knowledge about the cognitive processes involved in mastering complex material would make the study skills teacher an agent of social change aiming for the enlightenment and emancipation of students…

Engineering education is viewed as the development of the quality of thinking in students, and the implications of this approach for student assessment are discussed. (MSE)

Argues that strategies for overcoming reading comprehension problems should contain the elements of cognitive and metacognitive training. Advocates a reading/learning/study strategy which involves systematic and deliberate instruction stressing increased comprehension by demonstration and guided practice followed by independent application of the…

Sixteen Brazilian third graders aged 8-13 were given problems involving multidigit computation. School-taught algorithms were likely to be used in school-taught problems, with little carry-over to real problem situations, but resulted in more incorrect answers. (MNS)

Appraises current explanations of how visual processing occurs. Highlights the basics of simultaneous and serial levels of processing. Discusses the results of a series of experiments on visual-search tasks and also on the role of prior knowledge in processing. (ML)