The reasons people most often give for the failures of U.S. schools involve poverty, racial inequality, and a host of social problems. This paper argues that even if all these conditions were remedied, the schools would not produce many more people with the ability to think than they do today. Teachers, who are usually able to think, do not know…

Writing instructors must first examine the ways in which they are currently making written comments to become more effective in fostering improved student writing. Three heuristic rubrics form the basis for a guided self-assessment rubric for writing instructors. The first rubric is based on the work of Elaine O. Lees (1979) and involves…

This book aims to make a genuinely new contribution to the teaching of classic and contemporary literature in high schools--a system of teaching English that achieves classroom control through engagement and interest in content. The questions posed in the book help students build a kind of mental muscle for reading challenging texts and, what is…

The ability to understand and frame problems encountered in practice is a critical skill for school leaders. This paper reports on a study that inquired about the teaching and learning of problem-framing skills in the Prospective Principals Program at Stanford University, a preparation program for school administrators that relies on problem-based…

This qualitative research studied patterns of student self-talk (thought) in a sixth-grade mathematics classroom. The research sought greater understanding of the mental labels and operative cognitive structures upon which students rely in order to participate in schoolwork. Twenty-four students were given "math journals" and asked to…

Presents a technique used to understand the anchoring-adjustment heuristic and to integrate the concept with social psychological principles. Explains that students estimated the number of yearly stroke-related deaths that occur in the United States. Reports that the interaction between anchor and familiarity with the heuristic predicted stroke…

Two experiments, with 300 adult women as subjects, studied the effects of laboratory training on the use of the Conjunction Rule, a principle of probability that is often violated. Learning alternative strategies enabled trained subjects to use extensional reasoning rather than intensional heuristics. (SLD)

Using a computerized logic course employing the Carnegie Mellon Proof Tutor problem-solving environment, crucial features of computer environments were isolated and relative pedagogical effectiveness was assessed. Students used computerized environments to construct proofs and were presented with identical course materials on sentential logic. The…

Describes SHRIF, a System for Heuristic Retrieval of Information and Facts, and the medical knowledge base that was used in its development. Highlights include design decisions; the user-machine interface, including the language processor; and the organization of the knowledge base in an artificial intelligence (AI) project like this one. (57…

Proposes that methods intended to assist in information retrieval be grouped together and that the group be called "informed retrieval," a process which uses feedback from an information system to improve retrieval results. It is suggested that an integrated framework be developed that includes authority control and informed retrieval as…

Provides the transcript of an interview with Dr. Lev Landa that addressed issues related to his algorithmico-heuristic theories of learning and instruction, called Landamatics. Highlights include teaching thinking versus knowledge; algorithms; instructional design; improving training and performance in industry, business, and government;…

Argues that contemporary society requires new and more sophisticated ways of thinking. Reviews several approaches to teaching new cognitive processes in schools. Includes lists of characteristics that inhibit and promote higher order thinking skills. (CFR)

A conceptual framework and heuristic model for considering the existence, magnitude, and consequences of context effects are presented through an extension of some generalizability theory concepts. Context effects are often misunderstood, and current measurement models have serious limitations for examining them. Their importance needs to be…

Investigated strategies that 7- to 12-year-old children (n=96) spontaneously applied in solving novel combinatorial problems. With experience in solving two-dimensional problems, children were able to refine their strategies and adapt them to three dimensions. Results on some problems indicated significant effects of age. (Contains 32 references.)…

A metrics and mapping framework is proposed to account for how heuristics, domain-specific reasoning, and intuitive statistical induction processes are integrated to generate estimates. Results of 4 experiments involving 188 undergraduates illustrate framework usefulness and suggest when people use heuristics and when they emphasize…