Teaching thinking — A focus for science teaching?

Conclusion The studies briefly reported in this paper reveal the enormous potential in the direct teaching of thinking for improving the thinking skills of students. Science education could be a powerful vehicle for such an approach. In the short term this could be achieved by incorporating an existing program such as CoRT as a core science curriculum element. The detailed study and reporting of such implementation efforts is important in suggesting ways forward. In the longer term, the design of new science curricula which have as a major focus the direct development of thinking skills should be a priority.