Discusses heuristic approach to scientific social work research as philosophy of research that draws from contemporary philosophy of science and cultural, cognitive, and linguistic studies and that endorses research as tool for advocacy. Presents fundamental concepts of heuristic model, emphasizing how new conceptual foundations can facilitate…

Defines the engineering method by: (1) giving a preliminary definition and examples of its essential term (heuristics); (2) comparing the definition to a popular alternative; and (3) presenting a simple form of the definition. This definition states that the engineering method is the use of engineering heuristics. (JN)

Describes factors that may bias psychoeducational decision making and discusses three heuristic principles that affect decision making. Discusses means by which school psychologists can be made aware of these heuristic principles and encouraged to consider them when making psychoeducational decisions. Also discusses methods by which bias in…

The paper critically appraises the concept-learning and developmental perspectives in science education to show that Pascual-Leone's Theory of Constructive Operators leads to a progressive problem-shift between Piaget's epistemic subject and Pascual-Leone's metasubject. (SM)

In an attempt to specify in some canonical terms what many heuristic programs known as "expert systems" do, an analysis was made of ten rule-based systems. It was found that these programs proceed through easily identifiable phases of data abstraction, heuristic mapping onto a hierarchy of pre-enumerated solutions, and refinement within this…

Discusses analysis of experience as a starting point for career exploration. Shows how a structured interview approach can be applied to explore the features of an experience. The emerging patterns appear to facilitate the discovery process and serve as a foundation for career choice. (JAC)

A theoretical cornerstone of cognitive therapy is the idea that the relationship between experience and cognition, the interpretation of experience, is recursive. Human beings can respond to a given experience with more than one description and/or explanation of the experience and these alternative interpretations can have different experiential…

Discusses histories of three current issues in the psychology and pedagogy of mathematical thinking: (1) the notion of a "prescriptive method"; (2) "associationism" as an explanation for learning; and (3) Gestaltism. Reviews theoretical perspectives that emerged starting in the mid-twentieth century, including behaviorism,…

Reviews criticism of research on judgmental biases in cognitive psychology and recommends using caution in applying the findings of this research to research in school psychology. Provides suggestions regarding the potential of theory in cognitive psychology to reconcile discrepant findings in selected research on special education decision…

Explores the role of proof in mathematics education and provides justification for its importance in the curriculum. Discusses three applications of dynamic geometry software--heuristics, exploration, and visualization--as tools in the teaching of proof and as potential challenges to the importance of proof. (Author/MM)