Accelerated learning involves a philosophy and systematic process for providing the best education for each child. Lessons are not really fast-track but designed to enrich students' learning experience through higher expectations, relevant course content, and stimulating instruction. Accelerated schools have three guiding principles: unity of…

An extension of the multidimensional Rasch model for learning and change is presented that permits theories of processes and knowledge structures to be incorporated into the item response model. The extension resolves basic problems in measuring change and permits adaptive testing. The method is illustrated in a study of mathematical problem…

Presents results of a qualitative study of problem solving in the domain of instructional design. Novice and expert instructional designers worked on a "think aloud" design task, and their instruction protocols were analyzed for problem-solving processes. Analysis revealed that experts and novices used divergent design models and…

Discussion of how to teach thinking and problem-solving skills focuses on a study of seventh graders that attempted to convey expertlike behavior using LEGOLogo to explain how a washing machine operates. Topics addressed include concept representation and mental models; cognitive apprenticeship; and LEGOTClogo as a learning environment. (Contains…

Learning to interact positively with personality-challenged individuals will result in a more productive work and home life. A behavioral-styles model, and the effect of conflict on the personality types in the model, are displayed in figures and text. Case studies demonstrate successful interaction strategies. (MLF)

Two hypotheses derived from the theory of action identification, which predicts that people are more likely to adopt a novel course of action if they concentrate on the "how" rather than the "why" aspects of their behavior, were tested with 95 undergraduate students. Hypotheses examined how the level of action identification…

A model for problem solving stressing both psychological and cultural influences is presented. This model is based on the analyses of how graduate students (n=10) solve organic synthesis problems, along with two models of problem solving and a constructivist epistemological stance. (KR)

The uses that chemistry students (undergraduates, postgraduate, and trainee teachers) make of analog models when relating equations to projects were identified. Although only a restricted use of such models were found, and for none of the reasons valued by practicing chemists, patterns were identified. The implications for chemical education at…

Compares the Group Valence Model (GVM) to several derived versions of the Valence Distribution Model (VDM), as they relate to the group problem-solving process. Suggests that, not withstanding predictive accuracy, the VDM seems generally inferior to the GVM, which consistently accounts for more of the decision-making phenomenon. Discusses…

The model currently guiding educational policy development--constructing crises and crafting solutions--has a long, unproductive history. To shrug off American education's perpetual crisis mode, educators should expand their descriptive vocabularies, apply the "so what" test, adopt demonstrably effective solutions, eschew a crisis…

Describes the mental coding processes involved in the flow of information when the user is interacting with an enabling information-retrieval (IR) system, or a system designed to stimulate the user's grasping towards a higher understanding of the information need/problem/task that brought the user to the system. (Author/AEF)

Describes a model for designing learning environments that engage learners in solving problems and can be delivered at a distance via the World Wide Web. Applies the model to a constructivist learning environment for an undergraduate management course on aggregate planning. (Author/LRW)

Three studies examined the relationship between specific forms of preschoolers' social and pretend play and divergent/convergent problem solving. Naturalistic and experimental designs were used to provide clearer account of relationship and to challenge assumption of single direction of influence. Results support complex reciprocal causality model…

Examines mother, father, and youth questionnaire reports on family problem solving in 55 Asian American and Pacific Island American families. Results indicate that perceptions linked to the respondent's family role best accounted for the ratings' pattern. Predictive validity depended on family role: mothers' perceptions predicted delinquency and…

Demonstrates the Toulmin model as a problem-solving approach for administrators considering connecting their schools to the Internet. Using moral reasoning, a proposal to connect the school to the Internet is explored. The Internet in schools today, value judgments and principles, qualifications to the proposition, and media literacy are…