Research in this project studied cognitive processes involved in understanding and solving problems used in instruction in the domain of mathematics, and explored implications of these cognitive analyses for the design of instruction. Three general issues were addressed: knowledge required for understanding problems, knowledge of the conditions…

A study investigated the reason for the high performance of bilingual children on a syllogistic reasoning task. Thirty-nine Puerto Rican Spanish-English bilingual children in grades 3 through 6 were asked to solve problems in both languages. Response times were recorded, and the subjects were asked to justify their answers to assess to what extent…

Research indicates that novice problem solvers represent and organize knowledge differently from experts. The novice engaged in problem solving activities is of interest to educators because efficient instruction reduces the differences between initial intuitive knowledge representations and the true concepts to be mastered. A particular cognitive…

This fourth yearbook on research on mathematics teaching in Finland contains five articles, four in English and the fifth in German. "Mathematics as a Cognitive Science" (C. Letteri) examines cognitive aspects related to teaching and learning mathematics, with the focus on the different levels of comprehension and an analysis of basic…

Questions related to the instructional design of computer-based educational systems were addressed in a study in which college psychology majors completed a computer-based course in statistics using instructional units developed to teach the desired knowledge within the context of situations to which the knowledge is relevant--a technique called…

The International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education (IGPME) was founded in 1976 at the Third International Congress for Mathematics Education, to promote international contacts and the exchange of scientific information in the psychology of mathematical education. The goal was to further a deeper and more correct understanding of…

The materials collected here were presented at the fourth annual meeting held October 23 through 25, 1982, at the University of Georgia. The papers are grouped under the following headings: Mathematical Abilities; Understanding; Early Number; Adolescent Reasoning; Problem Solving; Teaching and Teacher Education; and Technology. Space limitations…

This report was part of the total scope of The Microcomputers and Middle School Problem Solving project. It employed representational models during problem solving in order to study: (1) observable patterns in self-directed use of representational models; (2) correlations between use of models and problem-solving ability; and (3) the motives of…

Abstracts of most of the papers presented at the 58th annual meeting of the National Association for Research in Science Teaching (NARST) have been collected in this publication. These papers related to such areas as: science curriculum development, design, and implementation; science test development; factors influencing student science…

A pre/post experimental-control design was used to evaluate a social studies curriculum based upon inquiry methods. Subjects were 308 eighth-grade students. The results indicated that there were no significant changes in creative thinking, attitudes toward power, understanding of power concepts, and problem-solving skills as a result of experience…

Research on the development of ability to control variables during adolescence is reviewed. The first section discusses studies by Piaget and his collaborators, replications of Piaget's studies, and related studies by other investigators. Factors which influence performance on controlling variables tasks are delineated; the existence of Piaget's…

Although teachers may sequence instructions carefully, they are unable to respond to the complex unique experience of each individual learner. Divergent production should be an instructional choice that enables individuals to learn through their own recall and idea construction. Learning is problem solving; when individuals do not know how to deal…

Problem solving is viewed as an increasing area of interest that focuses on the theory, research, and teaching of general cognitive skills which are applicable to broad problem classes. This document gives an overview of some important aspects of the theory and research in order to identify what general cognitive skills ought to be taught. Modern…

This research-oriented document is designed to give teachers insights into many of the causes of instructional problems in mathematics and to enable teachers to plan instruction which will be more responsive to identified needs. Individual chapter authors synthesize mathematics research findings, which provide three functions: (1) to describe what…

This study was designed to investigate the relationship between the level of conservation of displaced volume and the degree to which sixth-grade children learn the volume algorithm of a cuboid, namely, volume equals weight times length times height. The problem chosen is based on an apparent discrepancy between the present school programs and…