Synectics is the use of thinking in metaphors, or figurative language in general, to see the familiar in unfamiliar ways or the unfamiliar in familiar ways. W.J.J. Gordon and his Cambridge Synectics Group isolated ways to think metaphorically by using artistic problem-solving mechanisms most people possess in their experiential background. This…

This study examined the specific words that college faculty in different disciplines use to convey goals for students using data from 1986-87 interviews with 62 faculty members teaching introductory colleges and a 1988-89 survey of 2105 faculty which established a listing of over 6000 goal statements. Goal statements were examined in order to…

This paper describes an approach to instruction and learning processes in professional training schools using microcomputers and computer assisted instruction (CAI). It is argued that the use of computers in education changes existing approaches to teaching and learning by focusing on the structure of the information being taught, the organization…

This paper investigates the ways in which department chair and principal leadership influence the teaching secondary social studies classes. Based upon research in three sets of high schools, leadership efforts in the areas of curriculum program development, faculty collegiality, staff development, and school culture are explored. Instructional…

This paper introduces, as a new, relevant, technique for use in institutional research and planning, the concept of paradigms as presented by J. A. Barker. The paper uses as examples of these concepts analysis of two major problems, frequently found in higher education and institutional research and planning. These examples illustrate how outsider…

Art education combined with the sciences can be a leading force in raising the consciousness of students and teachers to the needs of our fragile planet. By teaching environmental aspects to the visual arts curriculum, we will also be teaching that one of the similarities we all share is the need for beauty. The sciences have traditionally carried…

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…