The major perspectives on problem solving of the twentieth century are reviewed--associationism, Gestalt psychology, and cognitive science. The results of the review on teaching problem solving and the uses of computers to teach problem solving are included. Four major issues related to the teaching of problem solving are discussed: (1)…

Although central office supervisors are emerging as critical linchpins of school improvement efforts, research is quite limited in this area. This study differs from previous efforts by focusing on the administrator's real world and identifying the subjective role conceptions and statements shared by four outstanding central office supervisors. It…

Mandler's theory of emotion is suggested as a framework for investigating affective issues in problem solving. Several dimensions of the emotional states of problem solvers are specified. Implications of this framework for research on affective issues in problem solving are also discussed. (PK)

Presents a psycholinguistic analysis of the development of writing skills and reports a developmental study of knowledge effects in writing. A theoretical framework decomposes the requisite knowledge into three main components: (1) generalized, high-level problem-solving plans, (2) content, and (3) discourse. (Author/SED)

Cognitive psychologists and measurement specialists have identified several methods for assessing students' knowledge structures. Applications of the Concept Structure Analysis Technique and MicroCAM (a computer-aided method) are described. Other research into schema knowledge is noted. These assessment procedures provide information about student…

This study examined the hypothesis that prior experience with augmented-quotient problems would positively influence performance on remainder-only problems and quotient-only problems. Analysis of sixth through eighth grade students' (n=545) responses to test forms that systematically varied the order of appearance of these three division problems,…

The current study is framed within an ongoing effort of probing students' attitudes and expectations about knowing and learning physics, which has driven several investigations during the past decade. The questionnaire we developed focuses on physics students' views regarding a variety of specific learning activities, which are presented by title…

An administrator's daily life is full of decisions that often involve an "on the spot" solution. This paper discusses some of the principles involved in drawing inferences in research and decision making, and describes how a knowledge of decision-making errors can help administrators. The paper also describes a case study that…

This paper reviewed literature on cognition to help art teachers understand what they can learn from the huge body of literature that has been generated by cognitive psychologists. It is argued that, in this information society, teaching memorization skills is not enough; students must learn problem-solving skills. A long list of specific thinking…

During the summer of 1986 a conference funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) was organized to assess the current state of cognitive research on the psychology of physics problem solving, and to examine the needs of physics instructors and instructional designers that must be addressed by a psychological theory of physics problem solving.…

An analysis of children's narrative composition and art revealed concurrent development at both a general structural level and at a fine-grained detail level. A three-part study investigated whether this general cognitive pattern would be maintained across a different range of tasks: literary composition, scientific reasoning, and working memory.…

Reviews research on (1) schemata acquisition while learning mathematics and techniques for detecting schema in mathematics learners; and (2) assessment of the distribution of cognitive resources while learning mathematics that lead to the design of instructional techniques to facilitate schema acquisition. (26 references) (MDH)

Inservice teachers (n=180) participating in seven mathematical problem-solving workshops were asked to define problem solving. An item analysis of the written responses indicated that 67% of the responses were conceptually or terminologically vague. Precise definitions fell into three categories: strategy-based (12%), skills-based (9%), and…

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 by James E. Grunig and his students at the University of Maryland tested a refined version of Grunig's situational theory of communication behavior (1968) by surveying the attitudes of the public regarding Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS). In preparation for the study, 20 years of research conducted by Grunig and his students was…