A model of expertise in physics problem solving was tested on undergraduate science, physics, and engineering majors enrolled in an introductory-level physics course. Structural equation modeling was used to test hypothesized relationships among variables linked to expertise in physics problem solving including motivation, metacognitive planning,…

Administered Problem-Solving Inventory (PSI) to ninth graders (N=198) to examine whether results would be similar to those obtained with collegiate population on which PSI was normed. Results revealed three factors which were defined somewhat differently with this younger population. (NB)

Creativity, intelligence, and problem-solving tasks that varied in the explicitness of problem definition and in the format for an acceptable solution were administered to 100 college students. Two hypotheses that distinguished between concepts of creative and intelligent problem-solving were presented, and syntactical and strategic distinctions…

Examines the generalizability of the Problem Solving Inventory (PSI) through research with Black South African samples. The estimates of the factor structure as well as other reliability and validity estimates provided strong support for the generalizability of the PSI to South African Black college students. The results also provided partial…

This study continued the research on analogy problem-solving on psychometric tests pursued by I. I. Bejar, R. Chaffin, and S. Embretson (1991). Characteristics of a semantic taxonomy and a cognitively and empirically motivated intensional/pragmatic (I/P) dichotomy were explored. There were two research questions: (1) Could the results of Bejar et…

A mental model is a knowledge structure composed of concepts and the relations between them. Mental models are distinct from declarative and procedural knowledge--they go beyond semantic relationships and skills acquisition and contain varied intellectual skills and knowledge. This study describes an initial investigation into the construct…

Cognitive holding power is defined as a characteristic of the learning setting that presses students into different kinds of cognitive activity. Development of an instrument to measure cognitive holding power and studies of the instrument's reliability with over 1,500 Australian technical college students are reported. (SLD)

This study was undertaken to determine the factor analytic structure of patient management problems (PMPs) and to determine whether such factors are stable for different groups taking the same examination and for the same group over time. PMPs attempt to simulate, in written form, the process that a physician goes through in managing a patient.…

A total of 482 third- and fourth-year medical students were rated over four-week periods, by multiple raters, house officers, and attending faculty, on 15 behavior rating scales. The data were factor analyzed, revealing two consistently appearing factors: interpersonal skills and problem solving. (Author/GDC)

This study reports on the development and psychometric properties of a new 87-item Mathematics Information Processing Scale that explores learning strategies, metacognitive problem-solving skills, and attentional deployment. Results with 340 college students support the use of the instrument, for which factor analysis identified five theoretically…

Construct validity of a prototype baccalaureate generic problem solving skills test was explored through a structural analysis. The assessment method used three real-life problem situations crossed by six generic skills, namely Decision-Making, Communication, Analysis, Synthesis, Valuing and Execution. There were six written responses for each…

"VIEW: An Assessment of Problem Solving Style" (Selby, Treffinger, & Isaksen, 2002) is a new instrument for assessing problem-solving style, for use with individuals from ages 12 through adult. It measures three dimensions of style relating to creative problem solving and change management. In this article, we discuss the…

A substantially revised Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) was introduced in spring 1991. The new examination is designed to assess critical thinking skills, basic concepts and problem solving facility in science, and writing skills. This paper reports preliminary findings on the factor structure of the revised MCAT, which consists of four…