This study addressed predictors of the development of word problem solving (WPS) across the intermediate grades. At beginning of 3rd grade, 4 cohorts of students (N = 261) were measured on computation, language, nonverbal reasoning skills, and attentive behavior and were assessed 4 times from beginning of 3rd through end of 5th grade on 2 measures…

Explains "Mathematical Mind Journeys," a lesson format that promotes computational fluency through variable practice that relies on mathematical memory rather than rote memorization. (Author/NB)

Changes in children's cognitive strategies for solving simple subtractions were studied by analyzing verbal reports given immediately after each problem. The development of children's cognitive processes involved a gradual shift from more primitive and less demanding memory strategies to reconstructive memory processes to retrieval processes.…

Examines the relation between children's (1) probability learning performance and a measure of their memory for items presented in a sequence and (2) probability learning and performance on a test of abstractive integration. Participating were 80 six- and seven-year-old boys and girls from both low and middle socioeconomic classes. (Author/RH)

Two studies investigated sixth and seventh graders' metacognitive reading skills or skills that are used in reading to remember. Students monitored relative passage difficulty between narrative and expository passages and offered reasons for their judgements. Self-report strategies, retrospection, and protocol analysis were used. (JN)

Two experiments investigated relationships between state anxiety, memory processes, and children's performance on problem-solving tasks. Participants were second and sixth graders in a private elementary school in Redlands, California. In both experiments, subjects responded to three training and eight test problems presented in the introtact…

Forty-eight first and second graders were taught an algorithm for solving concept-attainment problems. Using a 2 x 2 factorial design, a comparison was made of the effects of (a) reverse versus forward sequencing of instruction and (b) elicited verbalization of the algorithm versus nonverbal practice. Reverse groups outperformed forward groups on…

A study examined the executive functioning of 55 elementary school children with and without problems in written expression. A model that reflects some of the executive function domains (initiate, sustain, set shifting and inhibition/stopping) which significantly separate good writers from poor writers was used, however, none of the executive…

Thirty impulsive and 30 reflective EMR (educable mentally retarded) Black students (9-12 years old) were administered conjunctive concept attainment tasks with or without a memory aid. Repeated measures analyses of variance were used to examine the effects of the independent variables (cognitive tempo, presence or absence of a memory aid, and…

Young children's intentional preparation for future recall of the location of an object was examined within the context of a delayed-reaction paradigm. Children older than 3 years stored the object at distinctive locations and thereby facilitated retrieval. Feedback, viewing consequences, and suggestions for strategy positively influenced…

Investigated the effect of children's problem schemata and working memory span on the accuracy of children's solutions of arithmetic word problems. Results supported the hypothesis that the amount of working memory resources activated is independent of schemata activation, and indicated a weak relationship between memory and problem-solving…

Cognitive load theory was explored in 3 conditions among 96 third graders in nonisomorphic analogical transfer (problems do not have identical structures, constraints, and problem spaces). Conditions under which children best adjust the base to the target are discussed, and implications for transfer are reviewed. (SLD)

Designed to help stimulate the development of thinking skills in children of varying abilities and to review basic skills at all elementary grade levels, this book contains 153 "ready-to-go" classroom activities. Included are "total-group,""partner," and "individual" activities. Activities in the book are…

This study of problem solving and conceptual tempo had two objectives: (1) to begin to clarify the underlying deficiencies which contribute to the less efficient information processing of impulsive children (as compared with reflective children) during problem solving; and (2) to demonstrate the utility of using a task analysis as a…

To determine if the modality in which children represent information in memory influences the process by which problems are solved, problem-solving strategy of deaf and hearing 10-year-old children was compared on a concept-discovery task. (JMB)