The objective of this article is to suggest a conceptual map of the field of teaching thinking in order to help those who want to understand and implement it to know their way around. According to this map, the field of teaching thinking is divided into three approaches—the skills approach, the dispositions approach, and the understanding approach. Each one defines the key terms of the field—thinking, good thinking, and teaching thinking—differently. After presenting this typology and analyzing its various dimensions, the article tries to cope with two essential questions: Why three approaches, and which approach is most effective? The article concludes that the understanding approach is most effective in the school context and can incorporate the other two approaches.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AdlerM. (1982). The Paideia Proposal: An Educational Manifesto. New York: Macmillan.
2.
BarberM. (1997). The Learning Game: Argument for an Education Revolution. Great Britain: Indigo
3.
BarellJ. (1991). Teaching for Thoughtfulness: Classroom Strategies to Enhance Intellectual Development. New York: Longman.
4.
BaronJ. (1985). Rationality and Intelligence. Cambridge, MA: Cambridge University Press.
5.
BaronJ. (2001). Actively Open-Minded Thinking. and and CostaArthur L. (Ed.), Developing Minds: A Resource Book for Teaching Thinking, 3rd Edition. Alexandria, VA: ASCD, pp. 76—79.
6.
BereiterC., and ScardamaliaM. (1993). Surpassing Ourselves: An Inquiry into The Nature and Implication of Expertise. Chicago: Open Court.
7.
BeyerB. (1987a). Practical Strategies for the Teaching of Thinking. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, Inc.
8.
BeyerB. (1987b). Developing a Thinking Skills Program. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
9.
BrooksG. J., and BrooksM. (1993). In Search of Understanding: The case for Constructivist Classrooms. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
10.
BrownA. L., and CampioneJ. (1990). “Communities of Learning and Thinking, or a Context by Another Name.” In and and KuhnDeanna (Ed.), Developmental Perspectives on Teaching and Learning Thinking Skills. Basel: Karger.
11.
CostaA. L. (1991). The School as a Home for the Mind.Palatine, IL: IRI/Skylight Training and Publishing.
12.
CostaA. L., and KallickB. (Eds.) (2000). Discovering and Exploring the Habits of Mind. Alexandria, VA: ASCD
13.
De BonoE. (1970). Lateral Thinking: Creativity Step by Step. New York: Harper Colophon Books.
14.
De BonoE. (1985). “The CoRT Thinking Program.” In SegalJ.W., ChipmanS.F., and GlaserR. (Eds.) (1985). Thinking and Learning Skill, Vol. 1: Relating Instruction to Research. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, pp. 363—387.
15.
De BonoE. (1991). “The CoRT Thinking Program.” In and and CostaA.L. (Ed.), Developing Minds: Programs for Teaching Thinking. Alexandria, VA: ASCD, pp. 27—32.
16.
De BonoE. (1992). Teach Your Child How To Think. Middlesex, England: Viking, Penguin Books Ltd.
17.
DeweyJ. (1933/1998). How we Think. New York: Houghton Mifflin.
18.
EnnisR. (1987). “A Taxonomy of Critical Thinking Dispositions and Abilities.” In BaronJ.B., and SternbergR.J. (Eds.), Teaching Thinking Skills: Theory and Practice. New York: W. H. Freeman and Co., pp. 9—26.
19.
FacioneP., SanchesC. A., FacioneN. C., and GainenJ. (1995). The Disposition Toward Critical Thinking. The Journal of General Education, Vol. 44, No. 1, pp. 1—25.
20.
FacioneP., SanchesC. A., FacioneN. C., and GainenJ. (2000). “The Disposition Toward Critical Thinking: Its Character, Measurement, and Relationship to Critical Thinking Skills.” Informal Logic, Vol. 20, No. 1, pp. 61—84.
21.
FenstermacherG., and SoltisJ. (1986). Approaches to Teaching. New York: Teachers College Press.
22.
FeuersteinR., JensenM., HoffmanM. B., and RandY. (1985). Instrumental Enrichment, an Intervention Program for Structural Cognitive Modifiability: Theory and Practice. Segal, Chipman & Glaser (Eds.), Thinking and Learning Skill, Vol.1: Relating Instruction to Research, pp. 43—82.
23.
FisherR. (1990). Teaching Children to Think. U.K: Stanley Thornes.
FreireP. (1993). The Pedagogy of the Oppressed. New York: Continuum.
26.
GardnerH. (1991). The Unschooled Mind: How Children Think & How Schools Should Teach. New York: Basic Books.
27.
GardnerH. (1999). The Disciplined Mind. New York: Simon & Schuster.
28.
GardnerH., and Boix-MansillaV (1998). “What are the Qualities of Understanding.” In and and WiskeM.S. (Ed.), Teaching for Understanding. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, pp. 161—196.
29.
HalpernDiane F. (1996). Thought and Knowledge: Introduction to Critical Thinking. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
30.
HarpazY., and LefsteinA. (2000, November). “Communities of Thinking.” Educational Leadership, vol. 58, No. 3, pp. 54—57.
31.
HarpazY., and Lefstein. (2005, Winter). A. Teaching and Learning in a Community of Thinking. Journal of Curriculum and Supervision, vol. 20, No. 2, pp. 136—57.
32.
JohnsonR., and BlairA. (1994). Logical Self-Defense. New York: McGraw-Hill.
33.
LakoffG., and JohnsonM. (1980). Metaphors We Live By. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.
34.
LakoffG., and JohnsonM. (1999). Philosophy in the Flesh. New York: Basic Books
35.
LammZ. (1976). Conflicting Theories of Instruction. Berkeley, CA: McCutchan.
36.
LammZ. (in press). Ideologies and Education.
37.
LangerE. (1989). Mindfulness. New York: Perseus Books.
38.
LipmanM. (1991). Thinking in Education. Cambridge, MA: Cambridge University Press.
39.
LipmanM., SharpA. M., and OscanyanF. S. (1980). Philosophy in the Classroom. Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press.
40.
LipmanM., SharpA. M., and OscanyanF. S. (1988). Philosophy Goes to SchoolPhiladelphia, PA: Temple University Press.
41.
MarzanoR.. (1988). Dimensions of Thinking: A Framework for Curriculum and Instruction. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
42.
MarzanoR.. (1992). A Different Kind of Classroom: Teaching with Dimensions of Learning. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
43.
McPeckJ. (1981). Critical Thinking and Education. New York: Martin Robertson.
44.
McPeckJ. (1994). “Critical Thinking and the ‘Trivial Pursuit’ Theory of Knowledge.” In and and WaltersK.S. (Ed.), Re-Thinking Reason: New Perspectives in Critical Thinking. Albany, NY: SUNY Press, pp. 101—117.
45.
PassmoreJ. (1967). On teaching to be Critical. and and PetersR.S. (Ed.), The Concept of Education. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.
46.
PaulR. (1987). Dialogical Thinking: Critical Thought Essential to the Acquisition of Rational Knowledge and Passion. BaronJ.B., and SternbergR.J. (Eds.), Teaching Thinking Skills: Theory and Practice. New York: W. H. Freeman and Co., pp. 127—148.
47.
PaulR. (1992), Teaching Critical Thinking in the Strong Sense: Getting Behind World Views. and and TalaskaR. (Ed.), Critical Reasoning in Contemporary Culture. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press, pp. 135—156.
48.
PaulR. (1993). Philosophy and Cognitive Psychology: Contrasting Assumptions. Idem, Critical Thinking: How to Prepare Students for a Rapidly Changing World. Santa Rosa, CA: Foundation for Critical Thinking, pp. 229—236.
49.
PerkinsD. N. (1987). Thinking Frames: An Integrative Perspective on Teaching Cognitive Skills. J. B. Baron & R. J. Sternberg (Eds.), Teaching Thinking Skills: Theory and Practice, pp. 41—61.
50.
PerkinsD. N., and SalomonG. (1989), Are Cognitive Skills Context-Bound?. Educational Researcher, 18 (1), pp. 16—25.
51.
PerkinsD. N., and SalomonG. (1992). Smart Schools: From Training Memories to Educating Minds. New York: The Free Press.
52.
PerkinsD. N., and SalomonG. (1995). Outsmarting IQ: The Emerging Science of Learnable Intelligence. New York: Free Press.
53.
PerkinsD. N., and SalomonG. (1998). What Is Understanding. and and WiskeM. S. (Ed.), Teaching for Understanding. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, pp. 39—57.
54.
PerkinsD. N., and SwartzRobert (1991). The Nine Basics of Teaching Thinking. CostaA., BellancaJ., and FogatryR. (Eds.), If Minds Matter: A Forward to the Future, Vol. II, Palatine IL: Skylight, pp. 53—69.
55.
PerkingsD. N., JayE., and TishmanS. (1993a). New Conceptions of Thinking: From Ontology to Education. Educational Psychologist, Vol. 28, No. 1, pp. 67—85.
56.
PerkingsD. N., JayE., and TishmanS. (1993b). Beyond Abilities: A Dispositional Theory of Thinking. Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, Vol. 39, No 1, pp. 1—21.
57.
PerkinsD. N., CrismondD., SimmonsR., and UngerC. (1996). Inside Understanding. PerkinsD., JudahS., MaryW., and WiskeM. S. (Eds.), Software Goes to School: Teaching for Understanding With New Technologies. New York: Oxford University Press, pp. 70—87.
58.
PerkinsD. N., CrismondD., SimmonsR., UngerC., TishmanS., RitchhartR., DonisK., and AndradeAl. (2000). Intelligence in the Wild: A Dispositional View of Intellectual Traits. Educational Psychology Review, Vol. 12. No. 3, pp. 269—293.
59.
PostmanN. (1979). Teaching as a Conserving Activity. New York: Delacorte Press.
60.
PostmanN. (1992). Technopoly: The Surrender of Culture to Technology. New York: Alfred A. Knopf
61.
RavitchD. (2000). Left Back: A Century of Failed School Reforms. New York: Simon & Schuster.
62.
ReidS. (2002). How to Think: Building Your Mental Muscle. London: Prentice Hall.
63.
RitchhartR. (2002). Intellectual Character: What It Is, Why It Matters, and How to Get it. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
64.
RogoffB., MatusovE., and WhiteC. (1996). “Models of Teaching and Learning: Participation in a Community of Learners.” In OlsonD., and TorranceN. (Eds.), The Handbook of Education and Human Development. New York: Blackwell, pp. 388—414.
65.
RussellD. (1941). Education for Critical Thinking. The School, Vol. xxx, No. 3, pp. 188—194.
66.
RussellD. (1943). Critical Thinking in Childhood and Youth. The School, Vol. xxxi, No. 9, pp. 744—750.
67.
RussellD. (1960) Critical Thinking. Encyclopedia of Educational Research. New York: The Macmillan Co., pp. 651—652.
68.
SalomonG., and PerkinsD.Learning in Wonderland: What Do Computers Really Offer Education? and and StephenK. (ed.), Technology and the Future of Schooling: Ninety-Fifth Yearbook of the National Society for the Study of Education. Chicago: Chicago University Press, 1996, pp. 111—130.
69.
SarasonS. B. (1982). The Culture of the School and the Problem of Change. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
70.
SaertreJ. P. (1943/1884). Being and Nothingness: An Essay on Phenomenological Ontology. Great Britain: Methuen & Co. LTD
71.
SchefflerI. (1973). Philosophical Models of Teaching. Idem, Reason and Teaching. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.
72.
ScrivenM. (1993). Chapter II., Scriven, EsterleJ., and ClurmanM.D. (Eds.), Conversations with Critical Thinkers. San Francisco: The Whitman Institute, pp. 29—49.
73.
SiegelH. (1988). Educating Reason: Rationality, Critical Thinking and Education. New York: Routledge.
74.
SizerT. (1984). Horace's Compromise: The Dilemma of the American High School. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
75.
SmithF. (1990). To Think. New York: Teachers College Press.
76.
SmithF. (1998). The Book of Learning and Forgetting. New York: Teachers College Press.
77.
SternbergJ. R. (1985) Beyond IQ: A Triarchic Theory of Human Intelligence. New York: Cambridge University Press.
78.
SternbergJ. R. (1987) Questions and Answers about the Nature and Teaching of Thinking Skills. Baron, and SternbergJ.B.R. J. (Eds.), Teaching Thinking Skills: Theory and Practice. New York: W. H. Freeman and Co., pp. 251—259.
79.
SternbergJ. R. (1990). Metaphors of Mind: Conceptions of the Nature of Intelligence. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1990.
80.
SternbergJ. R. (1991). Intelligence Applied: A Triarchic Program for Training Intellectual Skills. and and CostaA. L. (Ed.), Developing Minds: Programs for Teaching Thinking. Alexandria, VA: ASCD, pp. 79—84.
81.
SternbergJ. R. (1996). Successful Intelligence: How Practical and Creative Intelligence Determines Success in Life. New York: A Plume Book.
82.
SternbergR. J., and GrigorenkoElena (2000). Teaching for Successful Intelligence. Illinois: SkyLight.
83.
SternbergR. J., and Spear-SwerlingL. (1996). Teaching for Thinking. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
84.
SwartzR. J. (1987). Teaching for Thinking: A Developmental Model for the Infusion of Thinking Skills into Mainstream Instruction. BaronJ.B., and SternbergR.J. (Eds.), Teaching Thinking Skills: Theory and Practice. New York: W. H. Freeman and Co., pp. 106—126.
85.
SwartzR. J., and ParksS. (1994). Infusing the Teaching of Critical and Creative Thinking into Content Instruction. Pacific Grove, CA: Critical Thinking & Software.
86.
TishmanS., PerkinsD., and JayE. (1995). The Thinking Classroom: Learning and Teaching in a Culture of Thinking. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
87.
TishmanS., PerkinsD., and JayE. (2000). Why Teach Habits of Mind?. CostaA. L., and KallickB.Discovering and Exploring the Habits of Mind. Alexandria, VA: ASCD, pp. 41—61.
88.
TreffingerD. J., IsaksenS. G., and DorvalB. (1994). Creative Problem Solving: An Intriduction. Sarasota, FL: Center for Creative Learning.
89.
WhimbyA., and LochheadJ. (1982). Problem Solving and Comprehension. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
90.
WigginsG., and McTigheJ. (1998). Understanding by Design. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
91.
WiskeM. S. (Ed.) (1998). Teaching for Understanding. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
