Strategies used by 15 fifth and sixth grade students to comprehend written problem solving tasks were identified. A naturalistic protocol analysis procedure was used to gather and analyze students' verbal and written responses to 55 selected reading and thinking tasks. In the ten tasks selected for detailed analysis, students demonstrated marked…

Behaviors that characterize play with convergent and divergent materials and the effects of play on convergent and divergent problem solving were examined in this study. Seventy-two 3- and 4-year-old children were assigned to one of three conditions: (1) play with convergent materials; (2) play with divergent materials; and (3) non-play control.…

Twenty kindergarten children, 5 to 6 years of age, were presented a free recall task in which half of the subjects were asked to generate a "plan of attack" for remembering before experiencing a study-test sequence. The materials were three different sets of 12 pictures each. In each set, three different conceptual categories were represented…

The efforts of the Mathematical Problem Solving Project, MPSP, to develop a paper-and-pencil instrument which could be used to assess processes used by children in attempting to solve nonroutine mathematical problems is described. A brief review of related literature is given and the development of the first and second instruments described.…

Appendices A - D to the technical report "The Development of a Process Evaluation Instrument" are presented. This instrument was developed as part of the Mathematical Problem Solving Project, MPSP. The appendices are: (1) Interview Problems; (2) First Instrument; (3) Second Instrument; and (4) Student Responses to Second Instrument and…

A cognition theory of learning is described based on information processing analyses of representations of knowledge in long term, intermediate term, and short term memory. An application of the theory is presented for an example of algebra. It is emphasized that learning is not simply a stamping in, through repetition, of simple links. The…

The problem-solving strategies used by tenth-grade students in the solution of mathematical problems were investigated. Forty students selected from four high schools were given pretests generating sixteen scores related to mathematics achievement, attitude toward mathematics, and other ability measures. These students were then asked to solve…

The series "Soviet Studies in the Psychology of Learning and Teaching Mathematics" is a collection of translations from the Soviet Literature of the past twenty-five years on research in the psychology of mathematical instruction. Also included are works on methods of teaching mathematics directly influenced by this research. The aim of…

Although critical thinking is a pervasive educational objective, it remains inconsistently and imperfectly defined. The present paper attempts to sort out direct attempts at defining critical thinking. Such definitions are classified as representing one of three differing points of view: critical thinking as evaluation, critical thinking as…

A group of children were presented with several tasks, including the invention of a sleep machine and a machine to weigh elephants. The tasks were chosen to involve the children in coping with problems of a distinct character. A study of the children's drawings and interpretations shows that children's thinking ability is not very different from…

The series is a collection of translations from the Soviet literature of the past 25 years on research in the psychology of mathematical instruction and the related methods of teaching mathematics. The aim of the series is to acquaint educators and teachers with directions, ideas, and accomplishments in the psychology of mathematical instruction…

The primary objective of this study was to compare problem solving performance among formal operational, transitional, and concrete operational individuals with the effect of relative field independence taken into account within each of these three cognitive developmental levels. Secondarily, the study explored whether a developmental relationship…

The memory model, based on information theory proposed by Moser (see SE 013 578), was used to compare the cognitive processing patterns of second and eighth grade Negro and Caucasian students in solving the "parallel circuits" problem. (Connecting two light bulbs and a dry cell so that when both bulbs light, one bulb can be unscrewed,…

Critical thinking can best be taught using higher cognitive questioning which includes the process of analysis, synthesis and evaluation. The learner is required to use knowledge in a problem solving manner. Thus, higher cognitive questioning should be used as a tool for developing critical thinking--a vital intellectual operation. (Author/NQ)

Presents a position strongly advocating inquiry training in science for students at all levels, but particularly at the elementary level. (SL)