By establishing a conceptual framework and a common language for educators to work together, this volume attempts to answer the challenge facing all teachers -- how can students improve the quality of their thinking? Methods of strengthening the thought process include: helping students learn to monitor their attention and commitments; asking questions that require students to organize, analyze, and integrate information; setting tasks that involve complex processes such as problem solving and research; and modeling and reinforcing fair-mindedness.

By establishing a conceptual framework and a common language for educators to work together, this volume attempts to answer the challenge facing all teachers -- how can students improve the quality of their thinking? Methods of strengthening the thought process include: helping students learn to monitor their attention and commitments; asking questions that require students to organize, analyze, and integrate information; setting tasks that involve complex processes such as problem solving and research; and modeling and reinforcing fair-mindedness.

This volume is a comprehensive guide to state-of-the-art research on thinking, cognitive instruction, social values, and reform. Cognitive instruction for at-risk students is discussed in great detail along with a thorough examination of the teaching of thinking skills from the viewpoint of educational values and school culture. The issues of thinking, learning, and cognitive instruction are linked to the educational reform movement from numerous perspectives. Specifically, the reader can better anticipate which aspects of research on thinking will conflict with existing paradigms and which aspects of schooling will be most resistant to change.

Organizing and clarifying research and theory from diverse sources, including philosophy and cognitive psychology, this book provides a framework intended to help educational practitioners (principals, supervisors, curriculum directors, and teachers) plan programs for incorporating the teaching of thinking throughout the regular curriculum. Chapter 1 discusses the need for a framework for teaching thinking and presents a historical perspective on the study of thinking. Chapters 2 through 6 discuss five dimensions of thinking: (1) metacognition; (2) critical and creative thinking; (3) thinking processes--such as concept formation, problem solving, and research; (4) core thinking skills--the "building blocks" of thinking--including focusing, information-gathering, organizing and generating skills; and (5) the relationship of content-area knowledge to thinking. The final chapter presents guidelines for using the framework. (A glossary of key terms and an outline of the book are appended, and thirteen pages of references are attached.) (ARH)

By establishing a conceptual framework and a common language for educators to work together, this volume attempts to answer the challenge facing all teachers -- how can students improve the quality of their thinking? Methods of strengthening the thought process include: helping students learn to monitor their attention and commitments; asking questions that require students to organize, analyze, and integrate information; setting tasks that involve complex processes such as problem solving and research; and modeling and reinforcing fair-mindedness.

The premise of Dimensions of Learning an instructional framework founded on the best of what researchers and theorists know about learning is that five types, or dimensions, of thinking are essential to successful learning. These are (1) positive attitudes and perceptions about learning, (2) thinking involved in acquiring and integrating knowledge, (3) thinking involved in extending and refining knowledge, (4) thinking involved in using knowledge meaningfully, and (5) productive habits of mind. Dimensions of Learning is a valuable tool for reorganizing curriculum, instruction, and assessment. The authors discuss each of the five dimensions in detail and describe hundreds of teaching strategies that support them for example, how to help students construct meaning for declarative knowledge, internalize procedural knowledge, and see the relevance of what they are expected to learn. The authors provide many examples at the elementary and secondary classroom levels. Teachers of grades K-12 can use this information to improve teaching and learning in any content area. Note: This product listing is for the Adobe Acrobat (PDF) version of the book.

This book sets out the theory and outlines a model for implementing the teaching of thinking at whole-school, group and individual levels in inclusive settings. The model uses a three-tier approach to ensure that all learners are included: teaching thinking for all, working with small groups, and addressing individualised learning needs.

This popular text examines literacy from a multidimensional and interdisciplinary perspective. It "unpackages" the various dimensions of literacy--linguistic, cognitive, sociocultural, and developmental--and at the same time accounts for the interrelationships among them. The goal is to provide a conceptual foundation upon which literacy curriculum and instruction in school settings can be grounded.

In Hearing Ourselves Think, cognitive process research moves from the laboratory to the college classroom, where its rich research tradition continues and an important new set of instructional approaches emerges. Each chapter moves from research results to classroom action, providing a direct and important link between research, theory, and practice. The book develops the concept of the research-based classroom in which students actively examine the processes and contexts of reading and writing and then turn their observations into principles for practice. Hearing Ourselves Think contributes to a lively new tradition of socio-cognitive research in writing and reading, exploring the dynamics of cognitive processes as they interact with dimensions of the academic context.

Thinking about the Teaching of Thinking provides an accessible and comprehensive introduction to Feuerstein’s theory of Mediated Learning Experience and its related tools and programmes. It details up-to-date international and New Zealand research on the Feuerstein approach which reflects the current issues in the teaching of thinking. The book begins by defining what is meant by the teaching of thinking and provides an easy to understand explanation of the Feuerstein method and its value for children with learning challenges. It champions a ‘whole school’ approach to the teaching of thinking and details the practical tools and programmes developed by Feuerstein – such as Instrumental Enrichment and the Learning Propensity Assessment Device – to aid in its implementation. It also recognises the key importance of cultural factors in the teaching of thinking, bringing together the author’s considerable research experience using the Feuerstein method in the multicultural New Zealand context with her extensive knowledge of international Feuerstein research. This book provides a user-friendly and unique coverage of the Feuerstein method for researchers and postgraduate students researching and working in educational psychology. It will also be of great value for teachers and parents looking to understand and decide on implementation of the Feuerstein approach in their schools.