Compared and contrasted are the concepts intuition and logic. The ideas of conceptual thought and algorithmic thought are discussed in terms of the world as a labyrinth, intuition and time, and the structure of knowledge. (KR)

This paper presents a historical overview of visualization as a human problem-solving tool. Visualization strategies, such as mental imagery, pervade historical accounts of scientific discovery and invention. A selected number of historical examples are presented and discussed on a wide range of topics such as physics, aviation, and the science of…

Results of a study involving 107 sixth graders, 107 secondary school students, and 99 college education majors support the basic hypothesis of the intuitive model of solving multiplicative problems proposed by E. Fischbein and others (1985) but show that the theory does not account for all the empirical data. (SLD)

This study is part of a larger research agenda, which includes future doctoral study, aiming to investigate the psychological processes of thought experiments. How do thought-experimenters establish relations between their imaginary worlds and the physical one? How does a technique devoid of new sensory input result to new empirical knowledge? In…

Combining both the Western perspective of creativity as productivity and the Eastern perspective of creativity as enlightenment, a Program for Enlightened and Productive Creativity (PEPC) for teaching inquiry was devised. The PEPC describes stages through which a student is guided to solve a problem using increasingly complex observation, inquiry,…

Divided into two parts, this article analyzes why some pupils feel reserve about instantaneous velocities and instantaneous flows. The second part relates reactions of pupils facing a problem that implicates the instantaneous rate of change. Describes some characteristics of this problem that enables the authors to explain its instructional…

External representations have a great impact on what and how students learn. One key manner in which environments can operate upon novices' knowledge is through helping them ground their problem solving in an understanding of the situation embodied by the problem. In this paper, students' difficulties in microeconomics problem solving were…

A study determined whether there are any differences in the adaptive competency acquisition between technology education teachers who have completed a school district add-on alternative certification process and technology education teachers who completed a traditional baccalaureate degree certification program. Non-probability sampling was used…

Describes two intuitive rules underlying students' conceptions in mathematics and science that are not always compatible with usually accepted scientific ideas. The intuitive rules are: "More of A, more of B" and "Subdivision processes can always be repeated." In teacher education, it is important to raise instructors'…

Presents 13 examples in which the intuitive approach to solve the problem is often misleading. Presents analysis of these problems for five different sources of misleading intuitive generators: lack of analysis, unbalanced perception, improper analogy, improper generalization, and misuse of symmetry. (MDH)

This paper discusses a radically different set of assumptions to improve educational outcomes for disadvantaged students. It is argued that disadvantaged children, when exposed to carefully organized thinking-oriented instruction, can acquire the traditional basic skills in the process of reasoning and solving problems. The paper is presented in…

In order to take into account in a more productive, effective manner children's prior science knowledge in the development of science curricula and in the teaching of science, it is important "to know how to explore it, to know about its nature, and to consider the various ways it may, or may not be modified" (Gilbert, Osborne, and Fensham, 1982).…

One of three related documents produced in response to a need for direct instruction in thinking skills at the secondary level, this program for high school students bases its approach on involvement of students in direct experiences. Designed to build on the thinking skills that the student already possesses and, ideally, on the experience gained…

Professional demands on school administrators continue to multiply exponentially. Effective administrators require solid preparation programs, continuing professional development, extensive experience, mentoring, and the support of supervisor and school colleagues. Chapter 1, "Intuitive Ways of Knowing," references research on intuition,…

To investigate the origins and nature of intuitive obstacles affecting the learning of elementary probability theory, 618 Italian elementary and middle school students were interviewed about their methods of solution for several problems dealing with probability. The discussion focuses on four varieties of obstacles to learning prevalent within…