In this study a distinction is made between routine, semiroutine, and nonroutine problems based on the problem solver's knowledge. Routine problems are solved by applying a known procedure, semiroutine problems require planning that uses functional knowledge, and nonroutine problems require generation of new functional knowledge. Nonroutine…

Back-of-the-envelope problems call for approximate calculations of quantities that can be related to information in a person's knowledge but are not solved precisely. These problems provide an opportunity for the study of processes and the role of general knowledge in ill-defined problem solving. Subjects with advanced and intermediate knowledge…

This project addressed the question: What knowledge and processes enable individuals to construct and modify representations of novel, nonroutine problems? The theoretical goal was to extend the information-processing theory of problem solving to include processes that have been characterized as restructuring of problems and productive thinking by…

Knowledge elicitation through programming was studied to determine students' intuitive ideas about motion. The subjects, 17-year-old sixth-form science students and 14-year-old third-form students, were asked to write expert systems programs about motion; and their interactions with their own knowledge were observed. The 17-year-old students had…

A number of studies have reported that there is a strong tendency to ignore base-rate information in favor of individuating information, except when the former can readily be incorporated into a causal schema. In this study, students in eight undergraduate classes were given problems in which the base-rate information was either causal or…

Scientific and everyday knowledge domains are compared so as to reveal the distinctive differences between their goals and the cognitive processes used to attain them. The main goals, working goals, learning difficulties, knowledge structure, concept specification, knowledge organization, role of school science, program-solving instruction, formal…