When mathematics is used to help people cope with real-life situations, a three-stage intellectual process is involved. An operational instrument for assessing how a person moves from the first to the second and third stage is proposed. (Author)

Reports on a study of human problem-solving behavior in which a technique called First-Order Cognitive Analysis was employed to analyze the tasks involved in certain accounting processes such as bookkeeping. A reference list, an appendix outlining the problem employed in the study, and an appendix on the task analysis are attached. (JL)

Describes experiments with Australian high school students that investigated differences in performance on chemistry word problems between two learning strategies: text editing, and conventional problem solving. Concluded that text editing had no advantage over problem solving in stoichiometry problems, and that the suitability of a text editing…

Describes a study of university students that examined the ability of people to learn a computer system by exploration and discusses the role of thinking aloud and reflection to obtain information about the goals of the user. Considers display-based, exploratory learning in relation to planning and problem solving. (Author/LRW)

This discussion of metalearning theories and thinking skills in relation to instructional design highlights other papers presented in this journal issue. Topics discussed include properties of skills; problem solving; the concept of psychological sets in contrast to the concept of skill; and the organization of previously acquired systematic…

Queries 'n Theories provides a parallel to the strong inference approach to scientific method--designing experiments, observing data, and theorizing. (Author)

Article is concerned with the kinds of problems which lend themselves to solutions in visual, graphic terms. (Authors/MB)

The proposed three-step strategy for research on human information processing--concept hierarchy analysis, analysis of example sets to teach relations among concepts, and analysis of problem sets to build a progressively larger schema for the problem space--may lead to practical procedures for instructional design and task analysis. Sixty-four…

Reports on an empirical study that investigated the use of hypertext information systems during architectural design problem solving. Discusses theoretical notions on design problem solving, changing informational needs, and educational implications related to learning in complex domains. (Author/LRW)

Proposes a new training approach to teach effective statistical thinking and describes two studies where people were trained to solve tasks involving conjunctive and conditional probabilities using a frequency grid. Discusses frequency format versus probability format, and describes results that suggest the importance of learning by doing.…

Presents empirical evidence for imitative problem solving and the interpretation theory, based on a study of Scottish secondary school students. Discusses analogical problem solving; the interpretation theory notation; and predicted sources of difficulty in mapping and adapting the practice problem to solve a variant. (Contains 42 references.)…

Examines the effect of group size in problem-based learning on the problem-solving skill, self-directedness, and technical knowledge of 72 students in a dental education program. Discusses results of pretests and posttests, students' reactions, and implications for instructional design. (Contains 34 references.) (Author/LRW)

Presents the current status and new perspectives on the Structured Learning Theory (SLT), with special consideration given to how SLT has been influenced by recent research in software engineering. Topics include theoretical constructs; content domains; structural analysis; cognition; assessing behavior potential; and teaching and learning issues,…

Examines principles governing the identification of a system of parameters for accurately describing student thought processes and discusses the parametric analysis of such thought processes, taking as an example problem-solving directed towards the explanation of physical phenomena. A 25-item reference list is included. (Author/JL)

Describes the beginning of a study of the cognitive processes required for applying financial accounting knowledge to specific problem solving situations. Task analysis is used to describe the cognitive components of accounting, and algorithms for the tasks are appended. Eighteen references are listed. (Author/CHC)