Describes a study that analyzed the qualitative features of learning interaction during classroom teaching and learning when mediating modern technological thinking and problem-solving skills for Finnish seventh graders. The learning interaction was organized according to the principles of a cognitive apprenticeship model and applied to a…

Analyzed a corpus of videotapes in which university students solved physics problems to determine how students learn to understand a physics equation. Found that students learn to understand physics equations in terms of a vocabulary of elements called symbolic forms, each associating a simple conceptual schema with a pattern of symbols. Findings…

This paper describes the global feedback in ActiveMath, a Web-based adaptive learning environment for mathematics and beyond. It addresses some of the cognitive foundations and the architecture of the suggestion mechanism with its components. This architecture separates components for diagnosis from components for suggestions and different types…

Teacher-learner relationships are founded on the fundamental human need of knowing that another person genuinely cares. Students know when they are recognized, understood, and respected for their unique abilities and interests by their teachers. Teachers who believe in their students' abilities demonstrate that they care by placing the learners at…

Alternative conceptions of classroom learning are explored in this paper, with a focus on challenging current assumptions about learning, teaching, and creating conditions to improve schools. The constructivist view is offered as a different approach to the behaviorist concept of learning and the metaphor of the classroom as a workplace. From a…

The main aim of this paper is to demonstrate that new and highly effective computer-based learning tools can be designed by adhering to a simple principle: Good learning tools conform to and support the processes and structures that comprise learning. The paper first discusses the processes involved in learning cognitive skills, then describes…

Research on Vygotsky's zone of proximal development theory was used as a foundation to investigate differences in the learning and transfer ability of 30 students with learning disabilities (LD) and 30 students with matched low achievement (LA), from grades 7 and 8. The two groups were assessed on their problem-solving ability on a balance scale…

A research project explored the idea that reasoning develops in distinct phases of thinking as individuals journey from simplistic learning of facts to highly proficient consequence predicting of integrated relationships. These results were derived from a study that examined the thinking processes and problem-solving actions of 13 students and…

Through the years, many researchers have advanced theories of problem solving. Probably the best definition of problem solving to apply to adult learning programs is Wallas' (1926) four-stage theory. The stages are (1) a preparation, (2) an incubation period, (3) a moment of illumination, and (4) final application or verification of the solution.…

Difficulties facing learning disabled (LD) students in problem solving are reviewed and an approach is proposed to help them make better use of the learning strategies available to them. A cognitive learning style approach to LD students is introduced, followed by an analysis of problem solving and the stages of information processing (attention,…

The teaching of decision-making, problem-solving, and higher-order thinking skills is necessary to ensure adaptability to our world of accelerated change. Living skills in the technology and information age will include the understanding and application of higher level thinking skills, which will be the educational "basics" of tomorrow.…

The emphasis on promoting thinking skills in the classroom has fostered several trends, tendencies, and tensions. This movement has taken three directions: the teaching of thinking, teaching for thinking, and teaching about thinking. In the first, thinking is regarded as a process of developing a set amount of skills. The proponents of this…

One approach to the study of cognitive processes highlights the distinctions between expert and novice problem solvers. This approach attempts to discover how experts and novices differ in the way they organize, retain and use domain related knowledge. It appears to some that what is learned from expert-novice research can help teachers to teach…

This investigation examined the relationship between problem solving ability and the criteria used to decide whether two classical mechanics problems could be solved similarly. The investigators began by comparing experts and novices on a similarity judgment task and found that experts predominantly relied on the problems' deep structure in…

From the Series "Social Studies Education: The Elementary School -- Focus on Inquiry.