A Preliminary Report of a Three Year Study: Teaching Analytical Thinking to Children in Grades K-7

Abstract

Introduction:  The Analytic Teaching (A.T.) program at Texas Wesleyan College trains teachers to use the tools of philosophy and logic as an instructional method.  The goals of this teaching method are to improve children's thinking skills, increase student scores on standardized tests, and enhance student attitudes toward things academic.  Teachers in the program are taught how to use the methodology and a set of instructional materials devised by Matthew Lipman and Ann Margaret Sharp of the Institute for the Advancement of Philosophy for Children (I.A.P.C.).  The Wesleyan Analytic Teaching Program is modeled after the Philosophy for Children Program.