This paper addresses the concept of critical thinking and its utility in education and training. It is divided into three segments. First, the paper defines critical thinking by establishing what critical thinking is and is not. Second, the relationship between critical thinking and education is explored. The goal of education is reviewed, and…

While researchers can describe how some effective principals perform in some situations, little is known about what shapes their practice and what meaning they find in such practice. This report is part of a larger series exploring principals' problem-solving strategies and thought processes. This paper examines one problem-solving dimension…

Biases in judgment reveal some heuristics of thinking about uncertainty. Three heuristics are discussed. (Author/RH)

The approach to problem solving which is presented has two components--closeness and reformulation. The closeness measure is a cognitively-based heuristic function. It incorporates the notion of what cognition notices as the structural difference between two situations. The problem-solver attempts to close the structural gap, and once this is done…

A discussion of traditional approaches to design forms the basis for the presentation of a methodology for architectural design. In particular, the sequence of analysis-synthesis-evaluation is given as being indicative of most design approaches. Variations of this sequence are examined and the importance of correctly ordering parts of any…

This document, one of several prepared by the University Urban Interface Program at the University of Pittsburgh, deals with the nature and solution of conflict within the environment. Many professionally trained managers are ill-prepared to deal with conflict in their environment. They often do not see it as a part of their managerial function.…

Attempts to develop an appreciation of the first-line supervisor's job and his responsibilities to management, to his worker-subordinates, to his peers, and to himself are presented. In particular this document studies the making of decisions, and discusses do's and dont's of face-to-face problem-solving with a subordinate. A movie film brings out…

A programed investment decision system was developed with the aid of generalized perceptron-type pattern recognition techniques. It was implemented in form of a man-machine (MM) system: The human analyst performs (1) some unstructured (heuristic) decision functions, (2) parts of identification of the decision situation, and (3) numerical encoding…

Describes an organization development program for educational systems and reviews an experiment conducted to assess its impact on elementary schools and their teaching staffs. Results indicate that the program was generally successful in establishing collective structures and increasing the perceived adequacy of collective decision processes in…

Describes observations on how companies handle decision-making under conditions of uncertainty, based on a study of the influence of computer methods on planning and decision-making in 32 companies. (Author/JG)

Discusses ways to prevent adolescents from smoking by preparing them to deal with problematic situations. Focuses on problem-solving and decision-making skills. Prevention strategies are also discussed. (RB)

The introduction from a soon-to-be published book on the concept of visioneering -- engineering a vision into reality -- is printed here. The article discusses the creative process, its historical and research background, the use of creative problem solving in approaching challenges and making decisions, and the current language of creativity.…

This guide to solving problems and managing dilemmas is practitioner-driven. The concepts, language, examples, and cases are crafted to appeal to teachers and administrators interested in improving how they solve problems and manage dilemmas in classrooms, schools, and districts. Part 1 of the book lays out the author's approach to framing…

Thirty-two Snake-fearing Ss viewed a videotape of four therapists who described and illustrated their techniques for treating fear of snakes. After describing their liking or disliking of each of the therapies, 16 Ss were assigned a preferred therapy, and the other 16 were given a nonpreferred therapy. The findings argue for the practice of having…