DOCUMENT RESUME ED 328 871 CS 009 714 AUTHOR Resnick, Lauren B., Ed.; Klopfer, Leopold E., Ed. TITLE Toward the Thinking Curriculum: Current Cognitive Research. 1989 ASCD Yearbook. INSTITUTION Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, Alexandria, Va. REPORT NO ISBN-0-87120-156-9; ISSN-1042-9018 PUB DATE 89 NOTE 231p. AVAILABLE FROMAssociation for Supervision and Curriculum Development, 1250 N. Pitt St., Alexandria, VA 22314-1403 ($15.95). PUB TYPE Reports - Research/Technical (143) -- Collected Works - Serials (022) EDRS PRICE MF01 Plus Postage. PC Not Available from EDRS. DESCRIPTORS *Computer Assisted Instruction; *Critical Thinking; *Curriculum Development; Curriculum Research; Higher Education; Independent Reading; *Mathematics Instruction; Problem Solving; *Reading Comprehension; *Science Instruction; Writing Research IDENTIFIERS *Cognitive Research; Knowledge Acquisition ABSTRACT A project of the Center for the Study of Learning at the University of Pittsburgh, this yearbook combines the two major trends/concerns impacting the future of educational development for the next decade: knowledge and thinking. The yearbook comprises tLa following chapters: (1) "Toward the Thinking Curriculum: An Overview" (Lauren B. Resnick and Leopold E. Klopfer); (2) "Instruction for Self-Regulated Reading" (Annemarie Sullivan Palincsar and Ann L. Brown);(3) "Improving Practice through Jnderstanding Reading" (Isabel L. Beck);(4) "Teaching Mathematics Concepts" (Rochelle G. Kaplan and others); (5) "Teaching Mathematical Thinking and Problem Solving" (Alan H. Schoenfeld); (6) "Research on Writing: Building a Cognitive and Social Understanding of Composing" (Glynda Ann Hull); (7) "Teaching Science for Understanding" (James A. Minstrell); (8) "Research on Teaching Scientific ThInking: Implications for Computer-Based Instruction" (Jill H. Larkin and Ruth W. Chabay); and (9) "A Perspective on Cognitive Research and Its Implications for Instruction" (John D. Bransford and Nancy J. Vye). (MS) *********************************************************************** * Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made * * from the original document. * ****************************.****************************************** 'PERMISSION TO REPRODUC MATERIAL IN MICROFICHE HAS BEEN GRANTEU BY ran TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESO INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) U 5 DEPARTMENT OF EDUCA Office ot Educational "inealch and im EDDCATiONAl RESOURCES INFO CEP4TEFf ERIC) 0 C- Th.5 (10CumOnt has be n rev( received hum the PO1500 01 01( ungmghnc) (Minor changes have been made t to) Inbioduction duality P0m1S of vlev. 01 Opinions stif :ea in merit ch) not noC05514 'cores OERI position of polio,. , - "'PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE THIS' MATERIAL IN MICROFICHE ONLY HAS BEEN GRANTED BY _g_l_firayaci + TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) U 8 OIPAIRIMIENT OF EUUCATiON Office or E aucittionil 'rrsearch and improvement EDUCATIONAl RESOLRCES INFORMATION CENTER ERIC) (This document has ne n recroduced es received hum the ',Orson or organization originating .t r Minor changes have been mede to improve reproduction Quality ----- Points 01 view or opinions smed tri ihtS (IOC U ment do not necessarily represent ("Oat OERI Positron or Policy Toward theThinking Curriculum: CurrentCognitive Research 1989 Yearbookof the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development edited by Lauren B. Resnick and Leopold E. Klopfer A"D 3 Copyright 1989 by the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Devel- opment, with the exception of Chapter 3, by Is.ibel L. Beck, and Chapter 9, by John D. Bransford and Nancy J. Vye, which were funded in part by grants from the U.S. Department of Education. All fights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or trans- mitted in any form or by any means, ekctronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system with- out permission in writing from the publisher. ASCD publications present a variety of viewpoints. The views expressed or implied in this publication should not be interpreted as official positions of the Association. Executive Editor: Ronald S. Brandt Managing Editor, ASCD Books: Nancy Modrak Associate Editor: René M. Townsley Manager of Design Services: Al Way ASCD stock number: 610-89012 LSBN: 0-87120-156-9 ISSN: 1042-9018 Price:$15.95 4 Toward the Thinking Curriculum: Current Cognifive Research Foreword/ vi Arthur L. Costa 1. Toward the Thinking Curriculum: An Overview/ 1 Lauren B. Resnick and Leopold E. Klopfer 2. Instruction for Self-Regulated Reading/ 19 AnnemarieSullivan Palincsar and Ann L. Brown 3. Improving Practice Through UnderstandingReading/ Isabel L. Beck 4. Teaching Mathematics Concepts/59 Rochelle G. Kaplan, Takashi Yamatnolo, and Herbert P Ginsburg 5. Teaching Mathematical Thinking and Problem Solving/83 Alan H. Schoenfeld 6. Research on Writing: Building a Cognitive andSocial Understanding of Composing/ 104 Glynda Ann Hull 7. Teaching Science for Understanding/129 James A. Mimirell 8. Research on Teaching Scientific Thinking: Implications for Computer-Based Instruction/150 Jill H. Larkin and Ruth W. Chabay 9. A Perspective on Cognitive Research and Its Implications for Instruction/173 John D. Bransford and Nancy J. Vy Toward the Thinking Curriculum: Concluding Remarks/206 Lauren B. Resnick and Leopold E. Klopfer The Authors/212 ASCD Board of Directors/214 ASCD Review Council/219 Headquarters Staff/ 220 iv 6 Acknowledgments The preparation of this yearbook was a project of the Center for the Study of Learning (CSL), a research and development center devoted to applying the concepts and methods of cognitive science to problems in school learning and instruction. Funded by the U.S. Department of Educa- tion's Office for Educational Research and Improvement, CSL is part of the Learning Research and Development Center at the University of Pittsburgh. Over the last three years, many people have played a role in planning and preparing the 1989 ASCD yearbook. A CSL planning committee com- posed of Isabel Beck, William Bickel, and Gaea Leinhardt provided editorial advice for the project. We are grateful for the substantive chapter reviews provided by Isabel Beck, Michelene Chi, Margaret McKeown, Charles Perfetti, Miriam Reiner, Leona Schaub le, Edward Silver, and Joanne Striley. And we appreciate the efforts of Ronald Brandt and the ASCD staff who have worked with us throughout. LAUREN B. RESNICK LEOPOLD E. KLOPFER Foreword A Curriculum.. is the enterprise par excellence where the line between subject matter and the method grows necessardv indistinct Jerome Bruner Curriculum decision makers are plagued with conflicting admo- nitions about what should be taught. Scholars such as Hirsch, Cheney, Ravitch, Finn, and Bennett have argued that disciplinary knowledge and cultural literacy are the primary ingredients for achieving an educated citizenry They contend t hat t he nmst effective contribution schools can make is to deliver the major concepts and understandings needed by all citizens. As a result of this knowledge-oriented standard fin. literacy, cou- pled with the ir;".wmation explosion, schools have been pressured to expand the breadth and depth of subiect matter coverage. Organi- z.ationally, schools have been judged "rammed" because they have increased the numl'er of class periods per week and required more minutes per day or more days per year. 'leachers' decision making has been influenced by curriculunt guidelines, textbook adoptions, and testing programs. Parents and politicians have come to judge schools and educators by their ability to impart more knowledge soGaer and faster. Teachers are thereby persuaded that the more content covered, the more effective is their teaching. A corollary of this belief is that the more rapidly and rigorously students progress through the curriculum, the more effective the instruction. Thus, the most effective instruction has become defined in terms of "coverage." In contrast to those who assert that the new standards !Or literacy will best be met by increasing the emphasis on knowledge, other educators believe that such knowledge in and of itself may be of little use. Rather, what is needed is to emphasize the teaching of thinking processes and skills. These educators assert that the tools of inquiry by which one discovers and validates knowledge are the transferable results of school and, consequently, emphasis should be given to dc- FOREWORD veloping these skills using disciplinary and cultural knowledge as a means, not an end, firAucating a literate citizenry. The many educafixs in this camp believe that the passing of the industrial era means the passing of the usef ulness of standardization as an organizing educational principle. "What all literate citizens should know" will no longer be a niajm concern. It is not possible to predict exactly the knowledge base required of productive citizens in the global/seryice-oriented/infiwmation age. It is also impossible to "cover" all the infiwmation in a human's liktime. We can be sure, though, that all citizens will need to solve problems, to think crea- tively, and to continue to learn. This yearbook is dedicated to strengthening educational leaders who are buffeted by conflicting demands and beliefs. It combines the two major trends/concerns impacting the fmure of t!ducational de- velopment for the next decade: knowledge and thinking. Rather than polarize these two educational necessities, it integrates them. This yearbook includes contributions from