A study was designed to investigate forms of human internal knowledge organization that facilitate the recall of information or its use for complex problem solving tasks. Three experiments, using college and high school physics students, were performed. The effects were studied by: (1) formulating explicit models of organization; (2) using…

Reports on an experiment in which students were taught the learning skills necessary for the understanding of a physical definition or law and those skills necessary for a type of problem solving. Results indicate that students can be taught such general cognitive skills and that they can transfer these skills to areas outside of physics.…

Discusses some central ideas emerging from a systematic approach to teaching scientific problem-solving skills. Areas considered include: insights derived from naturalistic studies; effective problem-solving methods; problem-solving procedures; characteristics of the knowledge base (focusing on functional conceptual building blocks, knowledge…

A theoretical model specifying the underlying knowledge and procedures whereby human subjects can generate effective initial descriptions of scientific problems was formulated. The model is prescriptive since it does not necessarily try to simulate the behavior of actual experts nor assume that their performance is optimal. The model, elaborated…

Several central ideas emerging from a systematic approach to teaching problem-solving in the quantitative sciences (chemistry, physics, engineering) are discussed. Areas addressed include: differences between teaching and performance, between naturalistic and effective functioning, and between detailed observations and gross statistical data;…