The purpose of this study was to introduce the Mole Solver, a computer based system that facilitates monitors and improves the students' problems solving skills on mole concept. The system has three distinct modes that: i) finds step by step solutions to the word problems on the mole concept ii) enable students' to solve word problems on their own…

In this paper three different meanings ascribed to reflective teaching are examined. The first, Cruikshank's Reflective Teaching Model, sees reflective teaching as the ability to analyze one's own teaching practices. Schon's "Reflection in Action," on the other hand, argues that the professional practitioner is one who can think while acting and…

The FUTURES program was developed by the Ontario (Canada) Ministry of Skills Development in order to better prepare severely disadvantaged and disabled youth in terms of both academic and job-readiness training. This study sought to construct a portrait of FUTURES students which would contain data readily translatable to counseling and…

In this paper the theory that human thinking proceeds according to the computer model, or symbol manipulation, is reviewed and challenged. The research used as subjects five highly rated tournament chess players who "thought aloud" during a chess game to provide tape recorded protocols of decisions made while playing. These protocols…

This study investigated social problem solving (SPS) and cognitive style (field dependence-independence) in 70 counselor trainees who were also elementary or secondary school teachers. Specifically, the study attempted to analyze and describe the SPS responses of counselor trainees; to examine whether SPS elements, styles, and processes varied…

The dimensions of the broad social-cognitive and metacognitive matrix within which pure cognitions reside are examined. Tangible cognitive actions are the cross products of beliefs held about a task, the social environment within which the task takes place, and the problem solvers' perceptions of self and their relation to the task and…

Information on the process of decision-making, hints on how to function in team decision-making, and materials on how to prepare clients for decision-making in team meetings for the beginning level child welfare worker are provided in this self-instructional manual. Techniques are discussed for improving the quality of decisions made by the…

In recent research, sequences of hypotheses observed during problem-solving have been categorized according to six hypothesis sampling systems that vary in efficiency. Three systems were characterized as strategies (focus, dimension check, hypothesis check) because they always lead eventually to solution. The remainder were called stereotypes…

This summary report, one of a series of documents on the evaluation of the University of Western Ontario Preschool Project, reviews studies (conducted as part of the project) of preschool children to determine why disadvantaged children fail in school and to discover if compensatory education activates and maintains the children's cognitive…

This paper briefly describes various methods used in a longitudinal and cross cultural study of kindergarten children's creative problem solving ability. The document contains a figure indicating relationships between four learning styles and child variables, child and parent behavior, and intervention techniques. A problem solving observational…

This study was designed to determine if there were certain aspects of cognitive/personality style that affected prospective teachers' choice of problem-solving paradigm and presentation of inquiry. Fifty-six undergraduate elementary education majors were given the Paragraph Completion Test, which measures conceptual level, and the Group Embedded…

Explains how peer writing tutors not only help their fellow students, but can also learn a great deal themselves about grammar and mechanics, information processing, marking papers, audience awareness, and problem-solving strategies. (ARH)

Research has revealed distinct differences in the problem-solving approaches of high- and low-aptitude students. As a consequence, content area teachers can focus on thinking skills by having students describe their mental processes and giving them feedback on erroneous or incomplete reasoning. (TE)

A study investigated the problem-solving skills and cognitive and learning styles of clinical decision making of 40 pharmacy clerkship students using a computer program. Results showed similarities in temperament, learning styles, information-processing modes, problem-solving strategies, and critical-thinking strengths, providing a profile of…

Discussion of course structure in active learning at the college level looks at ways level and type of structure can be varied and manipulated to meet challenges presented by a diverse student body. Issues discussed include the relationship of structure to cognitive style and development, fitting structure to content and objectives, and what can…