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…

A prescriptive model of problem-solving performance is described. The aim of the model is to specify explicitly how problems should be described initially in such a form as to facilitate their subsequent solution. According to the model, the process of initial problem description can be decomposed into two successive stages. The first uses general…

This study examined a proposed procedure for constructing theoretical descriptions of mechanics problems, in particular, to determine if the procedure led to explicit and correct descriptions of the motion and interaction of systems and if the resulting theoretical descriptions facilitated generation of correct constraint equations and, hence,…

Describes a systematic study of skills for solving problems in basic physics. Also discusses how detailed observations of individuals were used to formulate models for problem-solving processes in mechanics and applications for teaching basic college physics or engineering courses. (HM)

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…