The forum is focused on thinking about and with algorithms as a way of unifying all one's mathematical endeavors. The lead article by Maurer presents examples and discussion of this point. Responses, often disagreeing with his views, are by Douglas, Korte, Hilton, Renz, Smorynski, Hammersley, and Halmos. (MNS)

One difficulty that mathematically naive subjects encounter in solving arithmetic word problems involves the limitation on short term memory (STM) capacity. It is hypothesized that naive subjects, not having access to formal problem solving strategies, may find visualization useful in reducing strain on STM. Two experiments are reported. The…

Sex differences in speed of solving mental rotation problems were replicated but college men and women were alike in frequency of use of algorithms to solve problems. The most frequent algorithm involved encoding stimuli in working memory, mental rotation of one to orientation of the other, comparison, and response. (Author/RD)

Research on the cognitive processes used by physicians during patient care (template matching, deductive logic starting with multiple hypotheses, and algorithmic logic) is examined for its applicability to optometrists and the problem-solving strategies used by optometric students in the classroom or clinic. (Author/MSE)

An approach is described that reveals the hierarchical test structure (HTS) based on the cognitive demands of the test items, and conducts a linear trait modeling by using the HST elements as item difficulty components. This approach, referred to as the Hierarchical Latent Trait Approach (HLTA), employs an algorithm that allows all test items to…

An aptitude-strategy interaction in linear syllogistic reasoning was tested on 144 undergraduate and graduate students of both sexes. It was hypothesized that the efficiency of each of four alternative strategies--control, visual, algorithmic, and mixed--would depend upon the subjects' pattern of verbal and spatial abilities. Two tests of verbal…

This discussion of information structures in written texts describes how linguistic analysis of short published reports leads to the presentation of an algorithm that depicts the problem-solving process in terms of a series of evaluative questions. (Author/CHC)

Shows by means of a mathematical example how algorithmic thinking and mathematical thinking complement each other. An algorithmic approach can lead to questions that deepen the understanding of mathematics material. (DDR)

Examines the hypothesis that there are preliminary stages in problem solving that are often neglected in teaching chemistry. Discusses correlations calculated between the student's ability to handle disembedding and cognitive restructuring tasks in the spatial domain and ability to solve chemistry problems. (TW)

Compared and contrasted are the concepts intuition and logic. The ideas of conceptual thought and algorithmic thought are discussed in terms of the world as a labyrinth, intuition and time, and the structure of knowledge. (KR)

Discussed is the effectiveness of using analogies in chemistry instruction. Students' mathematics anxiety, spatial visualization skill, and proportional reasoning ability were found to be important aptitudes for determining chemistry achievement. The relationship between analogs and algorithms is described. (KR)