In the past 15 years, educators and education researchers have increasingly emphasized the importance of cognitive processes for effective education in mathematics and science. This may be characterized as a shift away from the epistemology which treats knowledge as a compilation and categorization of facts toward the notion that knowledge is the…

Self-regulated learning combines cognitive skill and motivation enabling handicapped students to select challenging tasks, apply effective learning strategies, and measure success against personal standards. Research on the development of specific techniques such as informed strategy training, self-control training, conditional knowledge,…

Discusses the need to teach problem-solving skills in science. Differentiates between guided discovery, guided inquiry, guided exploration, and guided investigation. Describes how guided exploration evolved and how it can be applied to the science curriculum. Provides a flowchart for guided investigation. (TW)

This book presents 13 papers from a 1998 conference in Hong Kong that examined how to apply psychology to enhance learning and teaching quality and focused on multicultural education: (1) "The Role of Multiple Competencies and Self-Regulated Learning in Multicultural Education" (Chi-yue Chiu, Farideh Salili, and Ying-yi Hong); (2)…

Describes a short problem-based course for a class of 180 students facilitated by two tutors. The course aims to assist undergraduates who have completed two years of study in basic medical sciences to apply their learning to the diagnosis and management of asthma and respiratory infections. (DDR)

Examines the definition of basic mathematics skills in a discussion of meeting the needs of mathematics students in a changing society. One basic skill is understanding formulas that are used in real life. Challenges teachers to teach students to reason mathematically, improve communication, and build mathematical connections with real-life…

Describes the research rationale for the developmental course offered to entering students at Upsala College (NJ) called "Precise Thinking." This skills-development program integrates reading, writing, and mathematical skills with underlying metacognitive processes to teach students perseverance and strategies for problem-solving and self-directed…

Summarizes 14 mathematics word-problem-solving intervention studies for elementary and secondary students with disabilities or who were at-risk for math failure. Interventions included representational techniques (diagramming), strategy-training procedures (cognitive and metacognitive), task variations (sequencing and word-problem context), and…

Examine students' motivational orientation (intrinsic/extrinsic) during problem-based learning (PBL), comparing it to their orientation during typical class activities. Participants were regular education students who used "Alien Rescue," a computer-based PBL program designed for sixth grade science. Implications of the findings for…

Discusses cooperative problem solving among Open University physics and math students and describes three studies that investigated how to design effective computer-based support for collaborative learning in distance education. The value of peer interaction for learning and problem solving is discussed, and students' attitudes to group work are…

Described is a year-long study of the way a group of six 12-year-old children went about solving a special class of geometric problems using a computer and a limited set of LOGO programing tools. Examines solution strategies deciding whether those strategies led to insights about mathematical relations. (Author/MVL)

Defines M-demand as the maximum number of schemes that the subject must activate simultaneously in the course of executing a task. Discusses the effect of M-demand on problem solving. Uses algorithms to reduce M-demand. Describes the role of algorithms in problem solving. (MVL)

Evaluates present conditions and recognizes current methodology being used for rule-based systems and schema-based systems, and gives examples of these systems. Lists educational implications of artificial intelligence and expert systems. (MVL)

Focuses on student organization, preparation, and presentation of simple foods (beverage, brownies, sloppy-joe sandwiches) as a way to apply various mathematical concepts, with problem-solving techniques being central to almost all the activities. Includes reproducible student worksheets. (MKR)

Examined patterns of giving and receiving explanations in three mixed-ability student groups (grades 7-10) working on problem-solving tasks. Groups were modeled after the cooperative learning approach, Student-Teams Achievement Divisions. Students infrequently sought explanations or received inadequate explanations, and explanation givers did not…