Capacities for abstract thinking and problem-solving are central to human cognition. Processes of abstraction allow the transfer of experiences and knowledge between contexts helping us make informed decisions in new or changing contexts. While we are often inclined to relate such reasoning capacities to individual minds and brains, they may in…

Findings from an on-going design experiment within a year-long graduate course for middle school teachers of mathematics are reported. The purpose of the course was to help teachers assist students in transitioning from arithmetic to algebraic reasoning. Goals included developing teachers' ability to interpret, compare, and generalize across…

The concern of the experiment is to find out the roles of abstraction and generalization in the learning of mathematical structures. The basic question is whether to generalize before abstracting or vice-versa in order to maximize transfer. The experiment involves four mathematical tasks and a transfer of activity. Experimental procedures are…

Two experiments were performed to determine whether practice on less complex problems, either smaller size or in familiar context, produces a strategy that transfers to similar but more complex problems. Practice on familiar problems was no more effective than practice on unfamiliar for transfer to another unfamiliar context for all sizes. (Author)

An examination of the effects of different types of review questions on the transfer skills of seventh grade math students indicates that relatively difficult review questions can effectively facilitate the retention of these skills. (JD)

The material presented here is designed to be used as a training program in the preparation, selection, and use of visual aids in instruction. Some prior training in the application of behavioral principles to the preparation of instructional materials is assumed. The program consists of a handbook and a workbook. All the information in the…

Six experiments examined the problem-solving behavior of normal and mentally retarded (MR) children with a two-choice discrimination learning situation: the effects of stimulus similarity upon types of solutions utilized by MR children; the role of redundant cues in the discrimination learning of MR subjects with differing mental ages; the…