The possible use of a calendar algorithm was assessed in DBC, an autistic "savant" of normal measured intelligence. Testing of all the dates in a year revealed a random distribution of errors. Re-testing DBC on the same dates one year later shows that his errors were not stable across time. Finally, DBC was able to answer "reversed" questions that…

Although equal sharing problems appear to support the development of fractions as multiplicative structures, very little work has examined how children's informal solutions reflect this possibility. The primary goal of this study was to analyze children's coordination of two quantities (number of people sharing and number of things being shared)…

Patterns of reasoning indigenous to American Indians and Alaska Natives are based upon a fluid holistic mindset, born out of intimate observation of the natural world and predicated on the understanding that nothing exists in isolation. All action has consequence and all interaction is significant. Just as American Indians themselves have been…

This paper reviews recent literature in order to identify factors affecting student performance in introductory high school and college physics courses. An important factor identified was formation of cognitive structures such as formation of problem solving schemata. It was concluded that Piagetian concepts such as concrete and abstract reasoning…

This study continued the research on analogy problem-solving on psychometric tests pursued by I. I. Bejar, R. Chaffin, and S. Embretson (1991). Characteristics of a semantic taxonomy and a cognitively and empirically motivated intensional/pragmatic (I/P) dichotomy were explored. There were two research questions: (1) Could the results of Bejar et…

Problem solving in mathematics incorporates abstract thinking skills, number logic skills, and a nearly endless list of other factors. One problem-solving task required in university-level mathematics courses is integration. This study investigated instructor presentation of a specific problem-solving strategy and whether it impacted performance…

This document presents a demonstration of how drawing affects writing, how writing affects drawing, and how both affect the thinking process of students. The third grade students participating in the studies were selected on the basis of their prior performance in reading and mathematics and their identified potential for achievement. The students…

This investigation is part of an ongoing, larger study which is looking at joint activity and appropriation of new understandings in an inquiry mathematics classroom setting. Instances of help-seeking which occurred while children were endeavoring to solve non-routine problems at home were analyzed. Considered in this study were (1) the kind of…

All contemporary learning theorists agree on the advantages of involving students in authentic problem-solving activities in both in-school and out-of-school contexts. Approaches which use real-world problems as learning tools fit well with: (1) the strategy-based, performance model advanced by information processors; (2) the impasse or…

This guide presents current scientific research on the process of human learning and stresses the importance of metacognition. Focus is placed on memory and learning with analogies to photography being employed to aid understanding. This guide also includes background information on human memory; a poster; instructions for the four short term…

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-,…

Reflective practice is a mode that integrates thought and action with reflection. Learning is dependent upon the integration of experience with reflection and of theory with practice. Experience is a basis for learning but reflection is the essential part of the learning process because it results in making sense or extracting meaning from the…

Alternative conceptions of classroom learning are explored in this paper, with a focus on challenging current assumptions about learning, teaching, and creating conditions to improve schools. The constructivist view is offered as a different approach to the behaviorist concept of learning and the metaphor of the classroom as a workplace. From a…

This review of the literature and annotated bibliography summarizes the available research relating to teaching programming to high school students. It is noted that, while the process of programming a computer could be broken down into five steps--problem definition, algorithm design, code writing, debugging, and documentation--current research…

Physics learning studies demonstrate that students' pre-instructional world knowledge is often logically antagonistic to the principles of Newtonian mechanics taught in introductory physics courses. Under these conditions psychological theory predicts that learning will be inhibited, a prediction consistent with both the experiences of physics…