This paper presents a historical overview of visualization as a human problem-solving tool. Visualization strategies, such as mental imagery, pervade historical accounts of scientific discovery and invention. A selected number of historical examples are presented and discussed on a wide range of topics such as physics, aviation, and the science of…

A practicum incorporating cooperative problem-solving and cooperative process writing was developed to improve attitudes toward writing and to improve writing skills. The participants, 28 heterogeneously grouped grade 12 students, worked in cooperative learning groups throughout a summer session to develop their writing and their problem-solving…

This module is the seventh in an inservice education series for extension professionals that consists of seven independent training modules. It provides information and exercises on working with extension's publics to achieve a proactive stance toward the future through projecting future conditions, analyzing trends, and inventing futures. The…

A study was conducted to identify strategies used by successful readers in comprehending and interpreting various kinds of texts. Seventy-three graduate students were asked to keep a journal (unedited and freely written) of what they were thinking as they were reading Umberto Eco's novel "The Name of the Rose." Selected journal entries…

The Bringing Out Head Start Talents (BOHST) project modified existing materials and procedures from the Retrieval and Acceleration of Promising Young Handicapped and Talented (RAPYHT) model in order to train Head Start personnel, parents, and volunteers to identify and program for Head Start children who are functionally or potentially…

This study was undertaken to determine whether convergent or divergent computer software better enhances children's critical and creative thinking skills. Subjects were 40 elementary students (4th, 5th, and 6th grades), who were randomly assigned to either convergent or divergent software treatment. These students interacted for 25 hours with…

The Invent America program addresses the need to provide K-8 students with opportunities to learn critical and creative thinking skills through the process of inventing. Students apply problem-solving skills as they turn their own creative ideas into inventions. It is an effort to integrate the curriculum, help students synthesize knowledge, and…

The Invent America program addresses the need to provide K-8 students with opportunities to learn critical and creative thinking skills through the process of inventing. Students apply problem-solving skills as they turn their own creative ideas into inventions. It is an effort to integrate the curriculum, help students synthesize knowledge, and…

The Invent America program addresses the need to provide K-8 students with opportunities to learn critical and creative thinking skills through the process of inventing. Students apply problem-solving skills as they turn their own creative ideas into inventions. It is an effort to integrate the curriculum, help students synthesize knowledge, and…

Problems and possible solutions for training Papua New Guinea undergraduates to think creatively are considered, with a focus on engineering students. Since many engineering graduates in Papua New Guinea work in isolated outposts with no one to teach them on the job, a practical problem-solving emphasis is needed in their college courses.…

Focusing on the role of language in learning, this paper discusses schemata and symbolic thinking that help students learn from unfamiliar experiences. The first part of the paper introduces the idea of symbolic thinking by comparing students encountering new ideas with convention-goers making their way around a new city. The section suggests that…

The 32 articles in this book, contributed by teachers from all educational levels, offer practical suggestions for teaching basic language skills. The articles are grouped into six sections: (1) classroom ideas for strengthening reading skills of elementary, secondary, and college students; (2) methods for introducing basic composition skills such…

Educational imagery is introduced as an innovative classroom technique that allows students to isolate themselves mentally and to apply their imaginations to teacher-directed scenarios to accomplish a variety of educational objectives. In this book, the rationale and procedures for using educational imagery with secondary school and college…

Recent brain research demonstrates that the left hemisphere of the brain processes information in a linear, organized way. The right hemisphere processes the same information as a whole, with a focus on nonverbal, spatial components. Current educational practice is inordinately skewed to develop only the left hemisphere of the brain. Data from…

Part of a set of 10 booklets on talented and gifted education, the booklet discusses the identification of talented and gifted students. A definition of talented and gifted students is offered, and its implications for school programs considered. State of Oregon guidelines for talented and gifted programs are presented. General and specific…