Computer-assisted instruction systems have been broadly applied to help students solve math word problem. The majority of such systems, which are based on an instructor-initiating instruction strategy, provide pre-designed problems for the learners. When learners are asked to solve a word problem, the system will instruct the learners what to do.…

The study investigated tool development by three middle school mathematics teachers. The tools they designed were intended to support the use of model-eliciting activities (a form of instruction related to problem-based learning) and particularly the students' presentations of their solutions for the whole class. The study examined the design and…

Recognizing the diversity of models and strategies for private sector participation in education that have emerged in Latin America, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) requested the Academy for Educational Development (AED) to conduct research with leaders in the public and private sectors in several countries. While…

In this study, the authors introduce a new way to analyze cognitive change during social interactions, based on the mental model theory of reasoning. From this approach, cognitive performance can be improved for solving problems that require multiple models when participants in a social interaction group maintain qualitatively different models of…

Technical problem solving as a model for instructional design (ID) has its strengths, and it has done much to provide designers strategies for their work, but it has substantial limitations as well. For one, it does not do a good job in describing how designers actually think. Slavish adherence to its methods can also be considered responsible for…

Teaching and learning fractions has traditionally been one of the most problematic areas in primary school mathematics. Several studies have suggested that one of the main factors contributing to this complexity is that fractions comprise a multifaceted notion encompassing five interrelated subconstructs (i.e., part-whole, ratio, operator,…

In this article, Judith V. Boettcher provides ten core learning principles that can guide technology-enhanced teaching as well as more traditional forms of instruction. Drawn from both traditional pedagogical theory as well as current research about how people learn, the ten principles integrate these findings in a helpful set of guidelines that…

A theoretical model and methodology is presented that allows the path or trajectory of an individual's emotional experience during problem solving to be depicted and empirically studied. The trajectory of one's emotional experience reveals how well the individual copes with the frustration of problem solving by indicating how quickly recovery…

While little is known about the processes of creative cognition or about the structure of human memory, scholars do understand the immense task of unraveling the cortical structure and function of the human brain. Existing literature on creativity appears to obscure the processes of creativity far more than it clarifies the creative act. However,…

This paper address three questions: (1) What is the nature of design? (2) How do skilled designers function? and (3) Can a theory of design be constructed which will allow novice and expert instructional designers to perform their tasks more efficiently and effectively? It begins by presenting two general theories of design: Simon's conception of…

Reports on two types of unsolvability in mathematics. One is an instance of impossibility and the second is a judgment of undecidability. Presents a number of examples of undecidable propositions. (GS)

Basic medical science has primary paradigms from which are derived secondary paradigms that allow the practice of medicine. Medical education consists in students acquiring this paradigm and in practitioners changing their paradigm in the light of medical research. (Editor/PG)

The cognitive processes involved in a child's interaction with the linguistic environment are discussed. Specifically, the general cognitive processes involved in outputting long spans of connected utterances are examined. Narrative data are classified into three developmental levels: the procedural phase, where the linguistic output is generated…

This document consists of three papers. The first, "A Parallel Model of (Sequential) Problem Solving," describes a parallel model designed to solve a class of relatively simple problems from elementary physics and discusses implications for models of problem-solving in general. It is shown that one of the most salient features of problem…

Decisionmaking involves the conception of the situation, a perception of the attitudes of others toward the problem, an understanding of the various alternatives available and their predictable consequences, and an ability to predict the acceptance of any given decision. The author contends that to regard implementation of the decision as part of…