Reference, Schools & Teaching, Education 

Publication Date: February 1988 | ISBN-10: 0871201488 | ISBN-13: 978-0871201485
Because of the bewildering array of strategies offered by various advocates, many educators are confused about just what it means to "teach thinking" and how, other than buying a packaged program, schools can provide for it. As a partial answer, the authors of Dimensions of Thinking have developed a framework intended to be the basis for curriculum and staff development programs. They have organized and clarified research and theory from several sources, including philosophy and cognitive psychology in a form intended to be useful to practitioners. As you read Dimensions of Thinking, you may be challenged to rethink conventional views on such matters as student motivation and reward systems and the relationship between thinking skills and content knowledge. You will doubtless begin to wonder about the possible impact of teaching thinking on the perennial problems of student failure, disillusionment, and unmet potential. And you will probably be excited by the possibility of gains in student achievement that we usually only dream about. Because this publication challenges traditional notions about purposes and methods of instruction, it has implications for preservice and in-service teacher education and for refocusing the efforts of supervisors, principals, superintendents, and boards of education. A powerful yet flexible model, Dimensions of Thinking promises to influence education far into the future. By Marcia Knoll ASCD President, 1987-88 - from Amzon