Describes a study of university students that examined the ability of people to learn a computer system by exploration and discusses the role of thinking aloud and reflection to obtain information about the goals of the user. Considers display-based, exploratory learning in relation to planning and problem solving. (Author/LRW)

Describes a study at the University of Twente (Netherlands) that investigated the effect of two instructional variables, manipulation of objects and guidance, in learning to use the logical connective, conditional with a computer-based learning environment, Tarski's World, designed to teach first-order logic. Discusses results of…

Discusses social and cognitive influences on understanding and solving word problems. Descriptions of studies with elementary school, secondary school, and college students highlight subject matter-related attitudes; the fact that students can solve problems without understanding them; and contextual expectations, including the issue of authority.…

This article describes and tests a theory of scientific discovery learning based on the Scientific Discovery as Dual Search (SDDS) model. A study of 22 university chemistry students determined that conditions for performing a search operation in hypothesis space include sufficient knowledge of the search operation and reasons for choosing a…

Describes a study conducted at the University of Southern Queensland (Australia) that investigated problem-solving behavior in statistics by documenting differences between successful and unsuccessful students. Two methodological approaches are described: one required students to identify key structural features of common problems, and the second…

This discussion of information structures in written texts describes how linguistic analysis of short published reports leads to the presentation of an algorithm that depicts the problem-solving process in terms of a series of evaluative questions. (Author/CHC)

To investigate whether problem-based learning leads to conceptual change, the cognitive and metacognitive processes of a group of medical students were studied during the problem analysis phase, and their verbal communication and thinking processes were analyzed. Stimulated recall of the thinking process during the discussion detected a conceptual…

Describes self-regulatory processes that promote achievement in the basic skills of reading (clarifying purpose, understanding meanings, drawing inferences, looking for relationships, reformulating text) and mathematical problem solving (clarifying problem goals, understanding concepts, applying knowledge, monitoring progress). Experiences in…

Examines students' construction of experimentation models for physics theories in energy storage, transformation, and transfers involving electricity and mechanics. Student problem solving dialogs and artificial intelligence modeling of these processes is analyzed. Construction of models established relations between elements with linear causal…