Critically analyzes an article by Jan Klabbers, focusing on methodological, epistemological, and ontological viewpoints. Examines the reasoning process whereby the actor approach model of learning environments is derived from the machine approach model; looks at claims of differentiation between rationalism and historicism, and the distinction…

Defines and compares project-organized learning and problem-based learning at a theoretical and practical level. Outlines differences and similarities both for institutions practicing and for institutions planning to implement some of these educational ideas. Contains 14 references. (JRH)

Describes a student project that enables students to experience problem-solving strategies and construct their own understandings of the problem-solving strategies by researching the problem-solving process itself, uncovering and defining strategies that they can subsequently use to solve problems, and exploring the impact that attitude has on…

Investigates 6th-grade students' use of equations to describe and represent problem situations prior to formal instruction in algebra. Describes students' preinstructional uses of equations to generalize problem situations and raise questions about the most appropriate curriculum for building on students' intuitive knowledge of algebra. (Contains…

The students of a Mathematical Modeling and Problem Solving class investigate and explore the mathematics involved in fitting a box spring mattress up a stairwell by solving various optimization problems and by using The Geometer's Sketchpad. The results show that a very small fraction of the class was actually able to solve the problem without…

Studying worked examples and engaging in self-explanation are well supported strategies for developing self-regulated learning and improving student performance. Our efforts involve a design theory approach to creating a Web-based learning tool that uses the notion of a weekly quiz to draw students into an environment that supports the development…

This article proposes four strategies for posing mathematics problems that raise the cognitive demands of the tasks given to students. Each strategy is illustrated with three common middle school mathematics examples: finding the greatest common factor, finding area or perimeter, and finding the equation of a line. Posing these types of problems…

This report summarizes findings on strategies chosen by students (n=38) when solving algebra problems related to various functions with the freedom to use a TI-83 graphing calculator, influences on student problem-solving strategy choices, student ability to approach algebra problems with use of multiple representations, and student beliefs on how…

Increasingly, machine learning is entertained as a mechanism for improving the efficiency of planning systems. Research in this area has generated an impressive battery of techniques and a growing body of empirical successes. Unfortunately the formal properties of these systems are not well understood. This is highlighted by a growing corpus of…

This study investigated the independent strategy development of 7- to 12-year-old children from the suburbs of Brisbane, Australia in solving a series of novel, two- and three-dimensional combinatorial problems. For each of the problem types, a sequence of five, increasingly complex, strategies was identified from the children's actions and…

A conditions-based approach to the development of microlevel organizational strategies for instruction is explored. The conditions model reflects the idea that differences in learning tasks, primarily qualitative differences in the cognitive processing required of different learning tasks, can suggest different ways by which instruction can either…

This 5-section report summarizes the results of a project concerned with how novices learn to become creative educational computer users. Based on a cognitive analysis of elementary programming statements in BASIC and calculator language into conceptual units, the project builds on previous research on learning BASIC programming. A general…

The relation of knowledge for solving problems to understanding of general principles in a subject-matter domain is discussed. Theoretical representations, called "conceptual competence," are presented to represent principles that are believed to be understood implicitly by individuals. Implications for problem-solving procedures can be…

In positively assessing Johnson (1978) (AA 529 124), this research proposes that the basic purpose of normative models of selection strategies is the development of continuous quantitative measures of problem-solving efficiency, while descriptive models determine degree of correspondence between formal normative models and actual behavior.…

Prompted learning and transfer were compared for mildly retarded (N=26), average achieving (N=15) and above average (N=15) children (ages 11 to 16 years). Subjects learned a problem solving strategy which utilized a graduated series of prompts. Retarded children required more assistance and more training to learn and transfer the trained strategy.…