Teachers are often perplexed realizing students ending up with different understandings of the same lesson after attending the same class. This study investigates the use of Variation Theory as a pedagogical design tool in improving students' problem-solving skills in trigonometry. This action research utilizing the 'Learning Study' approach was…

Unfortunately, much of the research devoted to Logo and problem solving has not supported the claim that Logo provides an environment in which children will develop problem solving skills, but the literature suggests that direct instruction and mediated Logo programming practice can result in the acquisition and transfer of certain problem solving…

An experiment in problem-solving was conducted in which one group of students used computer conferencing for continual public exchanges of ideas through asynchronous meetings, and another group used class discussion groups, while attempting to solve a legal problem in a course in consumer law. Student success rates for solving the assigned problem…

Describes study designed to examine the effects of textual and/or computer animated orienting strategies and practice on rule-using and problem-solving skills of elementary school students using computer-assisted instruction. Four different versions of a lesson based on Isaac Newton's Law of Motion are described, and results are analyzed. (28…

This study compared the effectiveness and efficiency of trainees in the Onan small products gasoline course under two training curricula: (1) the control group curriculum was the in-place course on the Emerald generator set; and (2) the experimental group curriculum was essentially the same with the addition of one lesson based on methods used by…

Describes a study conducted in a Hong Kong primary school that compared the effects of learning LOGO programing with a process-oriented approach and a content-oriented approach to problem-solving skills. Transfer of training to nonprograming problem solving is discussed, and instruments used to assess students are explained. (33 references) (LRW)

This study aimed at finding the optimal condition of written instruction and online practice for learning a new computer application. Subjects were 44 undergraduate and graduate students and university staff members. Those in the experimental group learned commands for an electronic spreadsheet by reading user-manual descriptions and working…

Discussion of the effects of variations in lesson control and practice on the learning of facts, procedures, and problem-solving skills during interactive video instruction focuses on a study of graduates and advanced level undergraduates learning cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). Embedded questioning methods and posttests used are described.…

A study was carried out at Pennsylvania State University to examine the effects of both textual and computer animated orienting activities--i.e., mediators through which new information is presented to the learner--and practice on the application and problem solving skills of elementary school students. It was hypothesized that students provided…

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…

This study addressed the assessment and development of problem-solving skills of college students. A mathematics-oriented computer-assisted instruction (CAI) program with an embedded general problem-solving strategy was developed. A related computer-managed instruction (CMI) module maintained student progress and phased out the problem-solving…

In a teaching experiment, 16 face-to-face and 11 e-mail Finnish university students engaged in an argumentation course. The 19 students of the control group did not study argumentation. The course involved two lectures, exercises with argumentative texts, and face-to-face or e-mail seminar discussions based on these texts. The topics of the texts…