These two issues of a newsletter address the use of computers in developing complex thinking skills. The first issue, for May 1986, includes articles on: environmental science computer applications; computers and higher order thinking in Mineola, New York; a description of case study research identifying effective uses of computers in developing…

The paper reports observations from a 2-year investigation of teaching/learning processes as they occurred during microcomputer instruction in three special education schools. Factors in the learner and/or learning environment are analyzed for their effects on the development of problem solving strategies. Part 1 reports observations of behavior…

Planning and debugging strategies and group processes predicting learning of computer programming were studied in 30 students aged 11 to 14. Students showed little advance planning. Factors associated with learning included high-level planning of program chunks, debugging of single statements, explaining, and verbalizing aloud while typing.…

This report introduces the concept of a "metacourse"--i.e., the provision of mental models, problem solving strategies, key concepts, and other structures--to assist students in learning programming, and examines the effect of the use of such a metacourse on high school programming students. The experimental group consisted of 6 teachers…

Research on the effectiveness of microcomputer software for drill and practice is briefly summarized, as well as research on other ways of using microcomputers. (MNS)

A study to determine the feasibility of creating and administering computer-based problem-solving examinations for evaluating second-year medical students in immunology and to determine how students would perform on these tests relative to their performances on concurrently administered objective and essay examinations is described. (Author/MLW)

This study focuses on the effectiveness of "Solutions Unlimited," a computer software program developed to teach problem solving to middle level students. Fifty-one fourth, fifth, and sixth graders (21 girls and 30 boys) attending a private school in a small mid-west community were the subjects for this experiment; none had received…

The purpose of the study was to survey self-regulation while responding to the addition facts. First graders' performance on microcomputer practice exercises was observed and recorded. Subjects could choose an analytic mode of operation using a symbolic or a finger strategy; or, they could choose a geometric mode of operation using a pictorial or…

Sixteen hearing-impaired adolescents received instruction in the graphics mode of the LOGO computing language. Eight of the students also received strategy training to enhance reflective problem solving and subsequently demonstrated fewer programing errors and improved problem-solving ability with LOGO, compared to controls. Highly impulsive…

The effectiveness of specfic dimensions of adult mediation on preschoolers' self-regulation of a model-consultation strategy was evaluated in a microcomputer-based problem-solving task. Two trained tutors taught 61 children who were pretested and randomly assigned to one of four treatments devised to test two factors of mediation: access and…

Describes a study that was conducted to explore how kindergarten and second-grade students are able to structure and solve geometric analogy problems in a computer-based test and to compare the results to a paper-and-pencil test format. Use of the Test of Analogical Reasoning in Children is described. (18 references) (LRW)

This 2-year longitudinal study explored whether computers promote more sophisticated thinking, and examined how students' thinking changes as they become experienced computer users. The first-year study examined the thinking process of four ninth-grade Apple Classrooms of Tomorrow (ACOT) students. The second-year study continued following these…

In two studies, preschool children's social interactions while working on problem-solving tasks were investigated. In the first study, 27 preschool children were observed over a period of 9 weeks while working on learning games at a computer. Sharing, verbal and nonverbal instruction, and initiation of interaction were recorded. A total of 63…

This study investigates whether groups of children on a microcomputer task show superior performance to individuals and whether the differences are due to social-cooperative or individual-cognitive facilitation. Considers the relationship between expressed knowledge and problem-solving performance across three conditions. (Author/CT)

Describes a study conducted with six pupils using Apple II Plus microcomputers and LOGO to determine whether five year olds can perform simple computer programing. This report describes the introductory educational games and activities, the pre- and posttests, some general findings, and possible implications for the teaching of problem-solving…