The purpose of this study is to contribute to an understanding of how errors could be employed in mathematics instruction so that the students use them constructively in support of their learning of mathematics. A teaching experiment was designed to create an ideal context in which the pedagogical approach to errors as springboards could be…

An integral part of the curriculum in introductory biology courses is the study of Mendelian genetics. Results from genetics learning studies and needs assessments demonstrated the need for additional intensive research in biology education and genetics learning. There exists a lack of detailed information describing reasoning patterns and…

This paper presents the thesis that pair problem-solving serves as an aid to students in developing their metacognitive skills. Metacognition has been defined as knowledge and cognition about cognitive objects and as any kind of monitoring. The ability to monitor one's thoughts and actions is greatly facilitated through the pair problem-solving…

This paper attempts to show that it is possible to analyze a problem solving protocol in which the subject spontaneously generates a series of analogies. The qualitative physics problem given to the subject describes a situation where that which is unfamiliar is often solved by relating it to several analogous situations that are more familiar.…

The ways in which students in grades five and six solve problems is the focus of this paper, which provides background for the staff of the Skills Essential to Learning Television Project, (a multi-level series of video and print resources for classroom use). It considers the problem-solving process categories of understanding, transformation, and…

Spider World is an interactive program designed to help individuals with no previous computer experience to learn the fundamentals of programming. The program emphasizes cognitive tasks which are central to programming and provides significant problem-solving opportunities. In Spider World, the user commands a hypothetical robot (called the…

Futures research involves speculation about alternative developments based upon existing data and potential choices. Effective futures research requires creativity in scientific practice rather than an overemphasis on reason. In discussing the important role of intuition in futures research, characteristics of creative scientists are reviewed and…

Explores what an intelligent information retrieval system involves and why expert system techniques might interest system designers. Expert systems research is reviewed with emphasis on components, architecture, and computer interaction, and it is concluded that information retrieval is not an ideal problem domain for expert system application at…

Develops a framework for analyzing the value of information, information products, and services from the viewpoint of information use, and analyzes the practical values of different types of information to study the problems involved in assessing their value-in-use and exchange value. Existing research studies are analyzed using this approach.…

Investigates the belief that caregivers' sensitive and contingent behavior is closely related to children's perceived control by analyzing the interactions between mothers and their 3 1/2- to 4 1/2-year-old children during a problem-solving task. (HOD)

Compares processes used to investigate issues in consumer chemistry to the solving of a puzzle in a mystery story. Suggests using similar methods to teach problem solving in consumer chemistry classes. Describes how such a process might progress. (CW)

Data are presented for problem-solving content of selected elementary school mathematics textbooks and problem-solving achievement for students in Iowa for grades 4-6 for selected years between 1955 and 1985. Relationships between textbook content and student achievement are considered. (RH)

Determined whether 11 third-grade children, differing in cognitive processing capacity, solve addition and subtraction word problems differently. Results, among others, show that children who differ in cognitive processing capacity also differ in strategies they use to solve the same verbal problems and differ in their success in finding correct…

A study of correlations between analogical reasoning and Logo programming mastery among female high school students related the results of pretests of analogical reasoning to posttests of programming mastery. A significant correlation was found between analogical reasoning and the ability to write subprocedures for use in several different…

Results from the 1979 Minnesota Computer Literacy Assessment show that eighth- and eleventh-grade females perform better than males in some specific areas of programing, i.e., those that involve problem analysis and algorithmic application where the problems are expressed verbally rather than mathematically. (Author/LRW)