This research study focused on the knowledge structure of the domain of physics by describing the knowledge of experts, intermediates, and novices. In order to investigate these representations, a reiterative categorization task was employed using novice, intermediate, and expert subjects (N=27). The categories were classified as theory-, model-,…

Gareth Morgan's "Images of Organization" introduces readers to "holographic organization" and explores his concepts of connectivity and redundancy, simultaneous specialization and generalization, minimum critical specification, and self-organization. This paper attempts to put these concepts into operation successfully by using data, surveys,…

A mental model is a knowledge structure composed of concepts and the relations between them. Mental models are distinct from declarative and procedural knowledge--they go beyond semantic relationships and skills acquisition and contain varied intellectual skills and knowledge. This study describes an initial investigation into the construct…

Instructional resources that employ multiple representations have become commonplace in mathematics classrooms. This study will present computer software, LaborScale which was designed to improve seventh grade students' word problem-solving skills through computer-based multiple representations including graphic, symbolic, and audio…

Hypermedia as a learning environment complements traditional instruction as it places the student at a higher level of control. Instead of "wait and see" what the teacher expects the student to learn next, hypermedia stimulates the student to become aware of his/her own cognitive needs and interests. This paper presents a combination of notions…

This research focuses on the graphics calculator in calculus and its impact on students' abilities to work with graphical, numerical, and symbolic representations. Three courses are compared, two of which are taught with less emphasis on the use of graphing calculators. The format of the course emphasizing calculator use is more traditional than…

PROJECTTUTOR is an intelligent tutoring system that enhances conventional classroom instruction by teaching problem solving in project planning. The domain knowledge covered by the expert module is divided into three functions. Structural analysis, identifies the activities that make up the project, time analysis, computes the earliest and latest…

This paper examines the novel problem solving actions of a pair of college students. The analysis highlights the role of the solvers' inferential processes including abductions, deductions, and inductions as structuring resources that contribute to both their understanding of the problems they face and the emerging novelty that constitutes their…

Students (n=45) in an introductory course in hydrology used a Vee map to guide their laboratory investigation. The Vee mapping technique was utilized by groups of students working together during the investigation and was graded with a scoring rubric developed by the instructor. At the end of the investigation, students completed a survey…

As a person learns, his problem solving ability improves and one reason for this is the increased acquisition of "macro-rules" which make problem solving more efficient. An intelligent computer assisted learning (ICAI) system is being developed which automatically acquires the useful knowledge from the domain experts; as experts give the learning…

An examination of Dutch research on legal case solving revealed that few law students get systematic instruction or testing in the technique of legal problem solving. The research being conducted at the Department of Computer Science and Law at the University of Amsterdam focuses on identifying the different functions in legal reasoning tasks in…

This paper describes how a target group of seven students in a combined fourth and fifth grade mathematics class used structured representations to solve fraction problems situated within various realistic contexts. Emphasis is given to the ways in which students' thinking about rational number concepts influences and is influenced by the…

This study explores seventh- and eighth-grade students' thinking about mathematical patterns. Interviews were conducted in which students solved problems about sequential perimeter and area problems modeled with pattern blocks and tiles, generalized the relationships related to the patterns and represented the relationships symbolically,…

This study of physics problem-solving identifies reasoning mechanisms that enable the problem-solver to achieve the transformation to a physics structure of the problem situation. Elaboration is explored as a mechanism in fulfilling this transformation by providing beginning problem-solvers with elaborations that they failed to infer. A card…

An administrator's daily life is full of decisions that often involve an "on the spot" solution. This paper discusses some of the principles involved in drawing inferences in research and decision making, and describes how a knowledge of decision-making errors can help administrators. The paper also describes a case study that…