The hypothesis is investigated that unproportional experience with uncontrollable situations for black and lower class individuals leads to an increased susceptibility to the poorer cognitive performance indicative of helplessness. Black and white lower and middle-class second and tenth graders were given no problems, solvable diagraph problems,…

This paper briefly describes various methods used in a longitudinal and cross cultural study of kindergarten children's creative problem solving ability. The document contains a figure indicating relationships between four learning styles and child variables, child and parent behavior, and intervention techniques. A problem solving observational…

A SERIES OF PAPERS DEALING WITH THE TEACHING OF THINKING TO ADOLESCENTS IS CONTAINED IN THIS REPORT FROM THE JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL ASSOCIATION OF ILLINOIS. TOPICS INCLUDE--(1) A REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE ON THINKING AND TEACHING, (2) THE DEVELOPMENT OF INDEPENDENT THINKING, (3) FACTORS RELATED TO THINKING READINESS, (4) TEACHING PUPILS HOW TO THINK,…

Do depressed people interpret guilt-provoking situations differently than nondepressed people? Cognitive-behavioral theories of psychopathology would predict that they do, since a major premise of such theories is that maladaptive emotional patterns are mirrored in distinct cognitive responses. Highly depressed subjects in an exploratory study of…

The purpose of this study was to develop evaluation procedures and to test the evidence of concept learning at various cognitive levels in an experimental social studies curriculum. A number of social science concepts relating to the use of natural resources were identified for use with Curriculum Model #1 on the Quabbin Reservoir system. A…

Progress is reported on four research tasks. An experiment tested the effectiveness of a computer-based phonology instructional system for second-language learning. In research on models of human-computer interactions, experiments were performed demonstrating that the provision of certain incentives to the users of a time-sharing system can have…

A review is presented of the role of algorithms in learning and instruction. The paper first describes an algorithm as a procedure guaranteed to produce a correct result and lists its features as: 1) having a reasonably finite number of unambiguously defined operations; 2) having zero or more inputs from a specified domain; 3) having outputs with…

The two objectives of this study were to compare the results of the teaching of written composition to high school students, using a problem-solving approach, with the results obtained using a traditional approach, and to determine if a problem-solving approach produces a significant difference in reflective thinking skills. Three null hypotheses…

A course focusing on the socially impoverished is presented. Its goals are: (1) to help the student develop an understanding of the impoverished in terms of current sociological theories and to relate theory to problem solutions, (2) to help the student develop an affective appreciation of impoverishment, and (3) to help the student to develop…

Performance data for 42 subjects pertaining to seven course objectives and ten propositional logic tasks were analyzed for hierarchical relationships using ordering theoretic technique. The resulting hierarchy indicated that simple implication and particular contraposition propositional logic tasks were prerequisite to some course objectives. This…

In three major reports on higher education, some common problems emerged as recurrent themes: the absence of faculty responsibility for the curriculum as a whole, the lack of structure in baccalaureate programs, emphasis on specialization results in a tendency to downplay the humanities, thinking and problem solving skills are neglected. (MLW)

This discussion of five areas in which computer based training can have an impact on the instructional process focuses primarily on its use to model and test the decision making process through interactive simulations. A listing of computer based training courseware vendors and authoring systems is provided. (CLB)

Examines the problem-solving strategies of experts and novices. Summarizes the overall performance of four experts and eight novices. Examines several protocols in depth in order to show how subjects introduced new terms and relationships during problem solving sessions. Compares the strategies of expert and novice problem solvers. (CW)

Explains how peer writing tutors not only help their fellow students, but can also learn a great deal themselves about grammar and mechanics, information processing, marking papers, audience awareness, and problem-solving strategies. (ARH)

This study identified and examined the validity of a Brunerian theory-based, aptitude-enhancing, standardized educational simulation by assessing spatial visualization ability of students assigned to simulation and non-simulation treatment groups. Results indicate the simulation increased high aptitude learners' efficiency (and initially…