Teaching About Thinking; Thinking About Teaching:
Why teaching "facts" is not enough.
Essays About Teaching for Reasoning and Understanding
by Richard Garlikov


 Introduction

Section 1:
Understanding Concepts, Deductions, and Judgments
-- with examples from math, science, literature, teaching, teacher education, 
and tennis, since reasoning and understanding apply to everything in at least some form or other. Even those things in life which have little to do with reasoning and understanding can be thought about in reasonable ways, and may even be improved by such thinking.

Reasoning: What It Is To Be Rational

Having Understanding Versus Knowing Correct Explanations

Understanding, Shallow Thinking, and Schools

The Socratic Method: Teaching by Questions

Online Versus Onground Teaching (Word document) (HTML Webpage)

Teaching Effectively: Helping Students Absorb and 
Assimilate Material

Understanding and Teaching Place-Value

Fostering Insights and Understanding Through Teaching

Desirable School Curriculum

Evaluating Students, Teachers, and Student Teachers

Evaluating Teachers by Video Tape Lessons and Portfolios

About Simplifying Teaching Theories

Learning Styles?

Shedding Light on Time: Learning and Teaching Difficult Concepts

The Concept of Teaching "To" the Test

More About Evaluations: Follow-Up to "The Concept of Teaching 'To' the Test"

Equal "Opportunity" To Learn

Unfairness of the College Board SATs

The Immorality of Giving Tests for Grades in Teaching

Using Questions to Teach Better

Pet Peeve: Students Who Say "I Don't Know What You Are Looking For"

Bogus "Critical Thinking" Teaching Strategies

A Common, but Terrible, Mistake in Teaching Math and Science

"Explaining" Math Poorly

Teaching Science and Literature

Teaching Logic and Abstract Thinking to Third Graders?

"Thinking" Is Most Difficult for Supposedly Best Students

Insight, Inspiration, Logic, and Learning

Understanding "Understanding": What It Means to "Understand" Something

The Theban Plays of Sophocles

Writing College Papers (and Exam Answers)

Preparing College Reading Assignments

A Loose Introduction to Reading Plato

Uses and Importance of Hyperlinks

Writing Rhyming Poetry Without Talent

The Power and Purpose of Poetry in Prose

Teaching Literary Style

Mislabeling "Highly Qualified" Teachers

Significant Differences Between Writing and Talking; Why Talking Seems Easier

Selected Passages from Jane Austen

Strategy in Tennis (Particularly Doubles)

Understanding Algebra

Algebra I Supplemental Preface

Math "Rate" Problems

Why Graphs of Equations in the Form 
Y = aX + b Turn Out To Be Linear (i.e., Straight Lines)

More About Fractions Than Anyone Needs to Know

Teaching "Quantity" Fractions

Teaching Math to Young Children

Reading As Children Do

Testing Reading

Explanations and Pseudo-Explanations in Science

Learning in a Classroom

The Concept of the Mole in Chemistry -- Why It Works, and Why It Is Important

Stoichiometry Stuff in Chemistry

Scientific Confirmation 

A Philosophy of Science Logic Problem

Math, Science,  Knowledge, and Nature

Methodology vs Content in Teaching

Computers Versus Books and Paper in Schools?

         Further Examples and an Exception to the Above "Computers Versus Books..."  
 

Section 2:
Reasoning and Morality
Students have natural concerns about good and evil, right and wrong, and fairness and justice. There are legal and reasonable ways to deal with these concerns in order to foster conceptual, reasoning, analytical, and evaluative skills, and in order to make the classroom a more humane place, because many student ethical concerns are about school content, rules, and policies and about how they are treated and evaluated in school by teachers and administrators.

Moral and Spiritual Values & (Public) Schools

Simplistic Moral Reasoning

Religion, Morality, Secular Ideals, and Ethics Education

Logic and Ethics: The Harm of Logical Disability

The Problem With Teaching Through Bribery and Coercion

The Concept of "Tolerance"

Misguiding Values

The Point of Studying Ethics

Doing Ethics: Rational and Creative Thinking

The Uses of Philosophy In Today's World

Student Violence
 
 

Section 3:
Issues About the Role of Schools In Society

Suspension and Expulsion from Schools

Formal Systems Need Discretionary Mechanisms

Schools Are Not Places of Education

Typical School Curriculum and Instruction Is Too Narrow and Wasteful

Adopting a Kidnapper's Creed for Education: No Child Left Behind

Incidental Institutional Bias

The Alabama  High School Curriculum and Exit Exam -- comments about the curriculum apply to schools in other states as well. 

Between Parent and Institution

To Parents Trying to Improve Schools

Summer Renaissance Program Proposal

Epilogue

Fighting for the Higher Self