Dennis Matthies (born April 12, 1946) is an American academic. Matthies received a

B.S. A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...

from MIT in 1968 and an M.A. in Philosophy and Humanities in 1981 from

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

, where he taught until 1997. From 1992 to 1997, at Stanford University's Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL), Dennis Matthies developed several experimental courses that have subsequently become known to a wider public. These include:

Precision Questioning Precision questioning (PQ), an intellectual toolkit for critical thinking and for problem solving, grew out of a collaboration between Dennis Matthies (1946- ) anDr. Monica Worline while both taught/studied at Stanford University. Precision questi ...

(which was initially taught in the Stanford Philosophy Department), Self Coaching, Mental Ecology, Think on Your Feet, and Concept Busting. In each subject the approach is practical and meta-cognitive. These CTL subjects became part of a curriculum of short courses designed to prepare university students for both university learning and work in the 21st century. Through broadcasts on the Stanford Instructional Television Network, Precision Questioning and Self Coaching acquired a following in Silicon Valley. Different versions of Precision Questioning have been taught in universities inside and outside the United States. From 1996 to 2004 the concept of Precision Questioning was developed further as a result of Dennis’s work as an independent contractor at Cypress Semiconductor in San Jose, California, at Microsoft Corporation, in Redmond, Washington, and at a number of other companies in Silicon Valley. In 2004, with Professor Dr. Monica Worline from the Goizueta Business School at

Emory University Emory University is a private research university in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1836 as "Emory College" by the Methodist Episcopal Church and named in honor of Methodist bishop John Emory, Emory is the second-oldest private institution of ...

, Dennis co-founded Vervago, a content creation and training company that focuses on higher-order cognitive skills used by knowledge workers in areas of high complexity. Dennis is a recipient of the Dinkelspiel Award for Outstanding Service to Undergraduate Education.

External links

*
Do it Yourself Mentoring, the Keys to Self-Coaching
', Fast Company, June 1996 *

', Fast Company, October 1996 *

', Fast Company, October, 1997

Copyrighted Works

* 1989 – ''Learning with a Two-Track Mind'', Notes in the Margins * 1994 – ''Reading Faster, Reading Smarter'' (a) * 1994 – ''Think on Your Feet'' (a) * 1994 – ''Self-Coaching'' (a) * 1994 – ''Accelerated Concept Mastery'' (a) * 1995 – ''Precision Questioning'' (a) * 1995 – ''Concept Busting'' (a) * 1995 – ''Question-Driven Writing'' (a) * 1996 – ''Self-Teaching'' (a) * 1997 – ''Self-Coaching: When Getting Done Isn't Enough'', Access (a) Published through th
Stanford University Bookstore
{{DEFAULTSORT:Matthies, Dennis 1946 births American self-help writers Information architects Living people Massachusetts Institute of Technology School of Science alumni Stanford University alumni Stanford University staff