The authors examined the methodologies of articles in teaching-and-learning research journals, published in 1994 and in 2004, and classified them as either intervention (based on researcher-manipulated variables) or nonintervention. Consistent with the findings of Hsieh et al., intervention research articles declined from 45% in 1994 to 33% in…

The best research studies are more noteworthy for the issues they raise than for the questions they answer. Being informative is good; being heuristic is better. The two papers under consideration are heuristic as well as informative. Thus, Wong, Kasari, Freeman, and Paparella (2007) provide an answer to the question of what might influence the…

In many European mountain areas, including the Swiss Alps, agriculture has been on the decline in the last decades. This has led to changes in land use, landscape and biodiversity; changes which are perceived, explained and valued by people in different ways. In this paper, the views of local stakeholders in the Surses valley, Switzerland…

Intuition usually is defined as the capability to act or decide appropriately without deliberately and consciously balancing alternatives, without following a certain rule or routine, and possibly without awareness (Gigerenzer, 2007; Hogarth, 2001; Klein, 2003; Myers, 2002). It allows action which is quick (e.g. reaction to a challenging…

The main argument of this article is that human living systems are open, dynamic, intentional systems and, therefore, are capable of building ever more complex behaviors through self-organization and self-direction. This principle underlying general human development is also applicable to the development of gifted and talented behaviors. These…

Sustaining and strengthening tribal cultures, languages and traditions is at the core of every tribal college's mission statement. To help attain these goals, many colleges use one of Indian Country's greatest assets--its elders. Traditionally, elders hold a place of honor in American Indian society. Without cultural input from elders,…

The information matrix for the parameters in a latent-variable model is bounded from above by the information that would obtain if the values of the latent variables could also be observed. The difference is the "missing information." This paper discusses the structure of the information matrix, and characterizes the degree to which…

Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was invented in the 1920s to partition variance of a single dependent variable into uncorrelated parts. Having uncorrelated parts makes the computations involved in ANOVA incredibly easier. This was important before computers were invented, when calculations were all done by hand, and also were done repeatedly to check…

The concept of the general linear model (GLM) is illustrated and how canonical correlation analysis is the GLM is explained, using a heuristic data set to demonstrate how canonical correlation analysis subsumes various multivariate and univariate methods. The paper shows how each of these analyses produces a synthetic variable, like the Yhat…

This paper illustrates how canonical correlation analysis can be employed to implement all the parametric tests that canonical methods subsume as special cases. The point is heuristic: all analyses are correlational, all apply weights to measured variables to create synthetic variables, and all yield effect sizes analogous to "r"…

This brief paper argues that structural analysis--an extended form of cognitive task analysis--demonstrates that both domain dependent and domain independent knowledge can be derived from specific content domains. It is noted that the major difference between the two is that lower order rules (specific knowledge) are derived directly from specific…

Reflects on the work of Jurgen Habermas to help develop an objective and subjective rhetoric that are not in isolation from each other. Finds communicative competence a challenging conception of rhetoric's humane purpose: namely, the formation of autonomous and responsible speakers, capable of participating fully in the discourse of a speech…

Defines heuristics as cognitive "rules of thumb" that can help problem solvers work more efficiently and effectively. Professors can use a heuristic model of problem solving to guide students in all disciplines through the steps of problem-solving. (SWM)

Proposes the Integral Nursing framework, which combines Wilber's All-Quadrant/All-Level model, a heuristic device to organize human experience, and the Spiral Dynamics model of human development organized around value memes or cultural units of information. Includes commentary by Beth L. Rodgers. (Contains 17 references.) (JOW)

Discusses how the conceptual apparatus and modus operandi of games theory provides a research heuristic for understanding the strategic possibilities inherent in typical classroom situations in which the interests of students and teachers are partially concurrent and partly in conflict. Also discusses the preconditions for contracts between…