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Abstract
The paper identifies recent trends in instructional research which point to changing viewpoints on how to develop children's thinking skills. Three current projects at Queen's University Belfast, consistent with these viewpoints, are described. The ACTS project (Activating Children's Thinking) is a wide ranging initiative to promote the development of thinking skills in Northern Ireland classrooms. The second project, SMILES (Simulated Methods for Interactive Learning of Environmental Systems), is analysing children's understanding of environmental concepts within a systems framework, with a focus on computer-aided instruction. The final project on mathematics education is the result of a long-standing research programme and has been recently associated with the production of a set of commercially available textbooks called Oxford Mathematics.