This study investigated the differential effectiveness of two instructional techniques for field-dependent and field-independent fourth graders. Instruction consisted of eight worksheets and two tests. For one group worksheets contained perceptual structuring while for the other they contained both perception and cognitive structuring. This…

This investigation compares overt judgments about tenable hypotheses to choices in a concept identification task, as a function of stimulus similarity on successive trials. Two mathematical models are tested: (a) A 1-element local consistency version of Restle's concept identification model and (b) the same model with two additional passive states…

This issue, part of an annual series prepared for Maryland educators, presents the problem solving aspect of learning behavior by reviewing some of the variables which affect how individuals confront intellectual problems. Selected studies and a bibliography which are helpful in developing instructional methods which take into account individual…

Five experiments are reported which relate to sex-role identification in problem solving. Instruments used on high school and college students include a booklet of 20 problems that had illustrated sex differences during an earlier study, the Terman-Miles M-F Test to measure sex-role identification, an open-ended personal history questionnaire and…

This paper outlines the syntactic structures which represent a stage in the cognitive development of children, and focusses on an aspect of cognitive development known as conservation. The cognitive components of conservation are presented as the primordial base for the set of syntactic structures which map or mirror them. Piaget proposed four…

Defines skills used in the reasoning process: problem solving, classification and organization, making reasoned judgments, and researching a subject. Lists Vermont's basic competencies in reasoning and notes that teachers and the community must accept the competencies of reasoning as legitimate educational concerns. (KC)

Reviews current studies that emphasize teacher thinking processes. (Author/MLF)

The author reviews pertinent studies conducted between 1917 and 1973 in which the introspective-retrospective technique of data gathering was employed in determining the mental processes of children in arithmetical reasoning and the difficulties encountered. (MN)

In this article, some of the essential factors to a good technical program are identified. Seen as three major factors are: (1) teaching students to define problems; (2) teaching students that most engineering problems have more than one solution and contain trade-offs; (3) instilling a desire for continuous education. (MA)

Focuses on description of instructional-learning conditions for a LOGO environment hypothesized to be conducive to development of problem-solving skills for both given and new situations based on existing educational research. A LOGO activity for constructing squares and triangles is outlined to illustrate application of the instructional…

Two important aspects of transfer in mathematics learning are the application of mathematical knowledge (MK) to problem solving and the acquisition of more advanced concepts. General assumptions and themes of current cognitive research on mathematics learning in schoolchildren are discussed, focusing on issues facilitating the transfer of MK. (TJH)

An interdisciplinary problem-solving course at Rochester Institute of Technology's Learning Development Center, designed for students who had been placed on probation or suspended, is described. The course stresses the applications of "tools" such as analogy, using a variety of assignments in mathematics, logic, and literature.…

Differences between physicians and medical students in their recall of information from clinical problems were investigated. The focus of the study was on the recognition and recall of critical cues within cases as a function of problem difficulty and the organization of clinical information. (Author/MLW)

Responding to criticism that teaching thinking places a misguided emphasis on process at the expense of curricular content, this article contends that teachers should focus on how to relate both content and process for meaningful learning, because the value of any knowledge or skill depends on its context. (TE)

Determined whether 11 third-grade children, differing in cognitive processing capacity, solve addition and subtraction word problems differently. Results, among others, show that children who differ in cognitive processing capacity also differ in strategies they use to solve the same verbal problems and differ in their success in finding correct…