In the first experiment, 16 kindergarten children were tested on vertical/horizontal and oblique discriminations in symmetrical and asymmetrical alignments. When stimuli were asymmetrically aligned, the former discrimination was learned as rapidly as the latter. The second experiment demonstrated that the influence of configurational cues in…

Defends the role of humanities instruction in the education of engineering undergraduates in the areas of problem solving, risk taking, and the synthesis of metaphors and symbols. (AEA)

How writing skills are used in remedial mathematics classes to help college students attain better problem-solving achievement is described. Data affirm the value of the approach. (MNS)

In a study of tests on diagnosis it was found that confidence measures of knowledge adjusted for reasoning were more reliable than conventional measures of knowledge, supporting the idea that knowledge enhances the ability to recognize the diagnostic entities, and realism is associated with fewer premature closures. (MSE)

Students' misconceptions in mathematics and how teaching may be directed to diagnose and eliminate these misconceptions are discussed. Four main types of misconceptions during problem-solving are noted. It is also noted that the basic mathematical processes of generalizing, representing, and explaining are used in selected student self-help…

Suggests a scientific approach for teaching problem solving that would aim at understanding the underlying cognitive mechanisms responsible for good problem solving and would then use the resulting insights to design explicit instructions for enhancing student's problem solving skills. (Author/SK)

Errors students typically generate while trying to translate problems into and out of algebraic notation are reviewed. Translation skills and pupil difficulties with them are seen as areas deserving further research. (MP)

A large sample of 11-year-olds were observed on a perceptual maze task. Three ability level groups were formed and compared as to overall response paths and specific binary decision configurations. Explanations for observed qualitative differences and discussion of the viability of the experimental approach adopted are presented. (Author/RD)

Compared communicational interactions of maritally distressed and nondistressed couples engaged in conflict resolution tasks. Distressed couples made significantly more negative cognitive and problem-solving acts. Distressed couples evidenced more reciprocity of negative communication as compared with nondistressed couples. Relationships of these…

Implies that instruction can help students improve in reader-based processing of text and that strategies for making schema-general questions story-specific are necessary for processing, storing, and retrieving information from complex short stories. (AEA)

This study compared good and poor fourth-grade problem solvers on a battery of 19 "reference" tests for verbal, induction, numerical, word fluency, memory, perceptual speed, and simple visualization abilities. Results suggest verbal, numerical, and especially induction abilities are important to successful mathematical problem solving.…

The article examines the nature of performance deficits in exceptional learners as they relate to the ability to perform complex cognitive tasks. (PHR)

Increasing the amount of problem-solving training in the preservice education of mathematics teachers is promoted. Such problems should be designed to help preservice teachers acquire an "open search" frame of mind, according to the authors. (MP)