A teacher that emphasizes reasoning, logic and validity gives their students access to mathematics as an effective way of practicing critical thinking. All students have the ability to enhance and expand their critical thinking when learning mathematics. Students can develop this ability when confronting mathematical problems, identifying possible…

In this article, the author argues first, that critical-thinking skills do exist independent of disciplinary thinking skills and are not compromised by interaction effects with the major; and second, that standardized tests (e.g., the Collegiate Learning Assessment, or CLA, which is his example throughout the article) are the best way to measure…

In recent years, an acrimonious debate has broken out in higher-education circles about institutional accountability and performance. Efforts to alter federal policy in particular have been flashpoints for often heated discourse about the ways that colleges and universities could--and should--demonstrate their effectiveness to skeptical outsiders.…

A written clinical simulation exercise known as patient management problems (PMP) developed by the National Board of Examiners in Optometry is discussed. The new PMP format is considered standardized in the sense that the "visible" portion of the problem will be identical. (MLW)

In an attempt to capture the diverse experience of undergraduates at the University of Washington (UW), the authors designed and conducted the University of Washington's Study of Undergraduate Learning (UW SOUL), a longitudinal study that tracked 304 students (about five percent of the entering freshman and transfer class) through their…

For the thirty-seventh year, the Research and Theory Division and the Division of Instructional Design of the Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT) sponsored the publication of these Proceedings. Papers published in this volume were presented at the annual AECT Convention in Jacksonville, Florida. This year's Proceedings…

Defines assessment as finding out where the problems are in a program for the purpose of eliminating them. Presents a method for developing a formal assessment plan in history including principles of assessment, program goals, and objectives. Suggests determining what is already done and what further assessment methods are desired. (DK)

Comparison of medical students' performance on the National Board of Medical Examiners test, Part I, indicates that the replacement of scheduled instructional time (i.e., lecture-based instruction) with a guided problem-solving program was not detrimental to test scores. (MSE)

The cognitive determinants of number series completion performance were studied by presenting a systematic set of problems to college adults and to average- and high-IQ elementary school children. In each group, a combination of process and content-knowledge variables accounted for more than 70 percent of the variance in solution difficulty.…

Test validity, coaching, the college admissions process, and achievement tests are discussed by the director of the Iowa Testing Programs. Data published on the SAT are examined. It is suggested that systematic instruction in problem-solving skills may improve not only test performance but also skills the test is designed to assess. (Author/MLW)

Recent theoretical developments in cognitive psychology imply both a need and a possibility for methodological development. In particular, the theory of problem solving proposed by Allen Newell and Herbert A. Simon (1972) provides the rationale for a new empirical method for the processing of think-aloud protocols--trace analysis. A detailed…

Cites changes to occur on the Medical College Admissions Test to include: a reduction from six to four sections, biology and physics content-specific sections to absorb chemistry, elimination of multiple-choice questions to a problem-solving format, and the inclusion of graded essay questions. (RT)

A panel of 46 experts from philosophy and education defines critical thinking as "purposeful, self-regulatory judgment which results in interpretation, analysis, evaluation, and inference, as well as explanation of the evidential, conceptual, methodological, criteriological, or contextual considerations upon which that judgment is…

Performance by University of New Mexico students on the National Board of Medical Examiners exam was compared for two curriculum tracks, conventional (n=508) and problem-centered (n=167). Results suggest that the more teacher-centered and structured curriculum prepared students better for Part I of the exam, and the student-centered, problem-based…

What occurs in most schools and colleges is a ritual pretense lacking substance. Test scores and memorized facts mean little. John Dewey felt that education must be a continuous expansion of a web of connections and understanding that continues throughout one's life. Wisdom is education's true goal. (MLH)