Scholars have defined higher-order thinking (HOT) skills as a cognitive ability to interpret, analyze, arrange, and extend newly obtained and learned information (Lewis & Smith, 1993; Newmann, 1991a). Higher-order thinking skills draw much public attention, because they have been deemed to be an essential determinant of contemporary…

Over the past two decades, the role of school psychologists internationally has shifted from a more narrow focus on assessment to a broader emphasis on problem solving and delivering intervention services via consultation. Defining interventions is important for replication and translation of practice. Further, to make valid, data-based decisions…

Gaps between science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education and required workplace skills have been identified in industry, academia, and government. Educators acknowledge the need to reform STEM education to better prepare students for their future careers. We pursue this growing interest in the skills needed for STEM…

Studies of creative thinking skills have generally measured a single aspect of creativity, divergent thinking. A number of other processes involved in creative thought have been identified. Effective execution of these processes is held to depend on the strategies applied in process execution, or heuristics. In this article, we review prior…

Quantitative literacy has been recognized as an important skill in the higher education and workforce communities, focusing on problem solving, reasoning, and real-world application. As a result, there is a need by various stakeholders in higher education and workforce communities to evaluate whether college students receive sufficient training on…

Problem-based learning (PBL) spread from the medical school to other university and K-12 contexts due, in part, to the stated promise that PBL produces the target outcomes of deep content learning, increased problem-solving ability, and increased self-directed learning (Hmelo-Silver, 2004). However, research results have been unclear. This paper…

Discusses the reliability and validity of the treatment decisions psychologists make. Presents research in this area. Asserts that in order to organize future research and the development of effective treatment practices, the technical adequacy of the professional decision-making process requires scrutiny. Provides guidelines for evaluating the…

This article reviews the history of divergent thinking tests and provides a projection of current research suggesting a bright outlook for creativity tests. A model relating problem finding and problem solving is described, as are approaches to increasing test reliability. (DB)

This report describes a methodology for increasing the validity and reliability of inferences made about the problem-solving ability of science students that is based on performance on different kinds of tests. The generalizable cognitive components of problem solving that might be targeted by assessment are described, and specifications are…

Olae is a computer system for assessing student knowledge of physics, and Newtonian mechanics in particular, using performance data collected while students solve complex problems. Although originally designed as a stand-alone system, it has also been used as part of the Andes intelligent tutoring system. Like many other performance assessment…

Order Analysis is a multidimensional scaling (MDS) technique for determining order among items. This paper reviews articles by different authors describing various components of ordering theory. A common nomenclature is constructed to link together the various ideas and is applied to a fairly simple set of data. Topics discussed include a more…

Examines current state of Logo programming language and research on Logo and presents conclusions about the efficacy of Logo as a research and teaching tool. Conclusions discuss use of Logo to teach computer literacy; transfer of training; representativeness and reliability of Logo research results; and Logo research methodology. (Author/MBR)

This book synthesizes research findings on creativity and talent development. Part 1, "Definitions and Processes of Creativity," discusses the definition of creativity, creativity and psychology, federal definitions of giftedness and creativity, psychological research on creativity, traditional theories of the creative, common descriptions of the…