According to the Spectrum concept, all teaching is a chain of deliberate acts resulting from a decision-making process that begins before the teaching transaction and continues through evaluation. The Spectrum places all styles of teaching on a continuum according to whether teachers or learners are most responsible for decision making. (PGD)

Briefly analyzes and critiques "The Taxonomy of Educational Objectives" by Benjamin Bloom and others from the perspective of the values and epistemological presuppositions of the critical thinking movement. Suggests that the hierarchical organization of the taxonomy fosters mistaken assumptions about cognitive processes and may hamper successful…

Reviews the research literature on critical thinking, touching on the nature of and need for critical thinking and ensuing action, relevant findings of psychological research, the context of thought, issues in test construction, the diagnosis of thinking problems, and the need for research into the teaching of critical thinking. (PGD)

Argues that the preceding article in this periodical, written by Stephen Norris, about research related to critical thinking and the teaching of critical thinking, fails to demonstrate the scope of the research that has been done and overemphasizes a kind of specialized, compartmentalized thinking at the expense of dialectical thinking. (PGD)

Global tensions necessitate increased understanding of the Soviet Union by Americans. Educators can help by convincing their professional organizations to support activities aimed at increasing the availability of information and by making sure that local efforts to provide information to students are clearly unbiased and are purely educational in…

Reviews critical events in the history of relations between the United States and the Soviet Union, citing seldom-taught facts. Proposes increased emphasis on the study of the Soviet Union and U.S.-Soviet relations and suggests sources educators can use for learning more and making more information available. (PGD)

Secondary-level history textbooks' treatments of United States-Soviet relations can be biased and misleading. Ideological treatments present the relationship as a struggle between good and evil; "real politik" treatments recognize opposing viewpoints but are usually subordinate interpretations. Neither approach discusses U.S.-Soviet relations in a…

By focusing on goegraphy, music, art, and literature, one teacher teaches her students about the history of Russian culture without having to fight student predjudice against the Soviet government. (PGD)

A study of the reassignment of a shrinking metropolitan district's unterminated high school teachers during the late 1970s and early 1980s revealed that except in music and home economics, the number of classes taught by teachers who had majored in the relevant subject area declined, sometimes dramatically. (PGD)

The instructional auditor reviews school district policies, job descriptions, budget allocations, contract provisions, internal and external communications, instructional monitoring and delivery systems, elections, student characteristics, personnel characteristics, and administrative authority as these factors affect a district's instructional…

Comparison of videotapes of inexperienced and established junior high school teachers on their first, second, tenth, and twenty-eighth days of school provided insight into student needs and the teacher behaviors that set the stage for instructional success. Teacher supervisors can use such videotapes to help orient new teachers. (PGD)

School districts should identify those whom new textbooks will affect--including teachers, students, administrators, and support personnel--and determine the needs of each, then negotiate a legally binding service guarantee with the textbook publisher to ensure that services and materials will be provided to meet the determined needs. (PGD)

Overviews a section in the same "Educational Leadership" issue on improving teaching productivity. Highlights Harold Stevenson's article comparing mathematics education in the U.S., China, and Japan and Bruce Joyce's summary and analysis of the research literature on effective instructional strategies. (MLH)

American students perform poorly in mathematics compared to their peers in other countries, especially Japan and China. This article examines underlying causes for these deficiencies, including American complacency (in contrast to Asian diligence) and differing educational practices and expectation levels. Includes four references. (MLH)

The context of staff development programs should be selected from options promising substantial increases in student learning and aptitude. This article introduces the "effect size" concept and reviews recent research on teaching models (cooperative learning, information-processing models, synectics, nondirective teaching, and DISTAR). Includes 55…