Describes a model of adaptation to the environment across the life span. Proposes that an individual's performance in an activity is affected not only by cognitive capacity but also by perceptions and definitions of the activity. Empirical support for the model, based on a survey of individuals' everyday experiences and on laboratory studies, is…

Reviews research indicating that students' cognitive models hold random events to be equiprobable Examined 87 students between the ages of 15 and 17 to determine whether masking a random event using geometric figures would affect the students' view of the event as equiprobable. Results indicated that masking overcame the equiprobable bias of the…

Presents a model that relates Polya's ideas on problem solving to teaching practices that help create a mathematics learning environment in which students are actively involved in doing mathematics. Illustrates the model utilizing a high school geometry problem that asks students to measure the width of a river. (MDH)

The Future Problem Solving (FPS) Program assists students in acquiring better thinking, communicating, and problem-solving skills. Concepts built into the FPS process include the freedom to elaborate, respect for others and their ideas, providing a problem-solving framework, considering global concerns, and encouraging students to think about…

Argues that alternative education can promote excellence and high expectations within a nontraditional school setting, with educators rethinking key assumptions, and using a progressive education model with problem solving as a central feature. (SR)

Discusses knowledge, organization, and the organization and representation of knowledge. Addresses the relevance of international auxiliary languages as problems of development and use of special sign systems. Argues that--for computer realization of intellectual processes by modeling, not imitation--the psychological mechanisms of human memory…

Introduces action plan development model that describes the process recommended to assist clients who receive employment counseling through Canada Employment Centers. Decision-making process is established in the employment counseling assessment interviews illustrating how potential objectives are explored, prioritized, and translated into…

Discusses research on middle school science learning and instruction that suggests how generative models of scientific phenomena can be developed. The Computer as Learning Partner curriculum is introduced as a curriculum that provides a firm foundation for lifelong learning through the use of authentic questions. (SLD)

Two experiments related structure of a task to underlying cognitive mechanisms. Found that 3-year olds were no better at predicting behavior from partially true beliefs than from entirely false beliefs. Three- and 4-year olds, and autistic children had distinct performance profiles across tasks. Concluded that conceptual foundations for a…

Examines quantitative models in school physics, looking particularly at the degree to which they match the real world. Explores the positive aspects of a mismatch between models and real world conditions. (DDR)

Examined relations between representational models of mother-child relationships of mothers and children ages 14 to 52 months (some diagnosed with cerebral palsy or epilepsy) and maternal characteristics, child disability status, and maternal behavior in a problem-solving task. Found that representations are related to caregiving behavior apart…

Conjoint behavioral consultation (CBC) is an indirect form of service delivery in which parents and teachers collaborate to meet the academic, social, and behavioral needs of children. The purpose of this study was to evaluate CBC as a method of providing behavioral support for two students with emotional and behavioral difficulties (EBD) in…

This paper briefly examines the literature on (a) problem-based learning (PBL), including constructivism and problem solving, and (b) learning in context, including mediation, embodiment, distribution, and situatedness. We use this literature, our previous research [Hill & Smith Journal of Technology Education 9(1), 29-41 (1998)], and some initial…

About 9 per cent of the students in Israel drop out of school. Attendance officers, who are appointed to enforce education attendance laws, and other decision makers have to deal with many dropout cases with limited resources, leading to sub optimal or even wrong solutions. In contrast, creative, successful solutions adopted by one attendance…

The paper examines the role of critical thinking in an experience-based model of social work education. Within this model, the development of a critical approach to our own understanding of, as well as to existing knowledge about, the world is fundamental for students and educators alike. Critical thinking is defined as more than a rational,…