Describes current issues and difficulties inherent to the topic of critical thinking in physical education; also presents and discusses a schematic representation of a theoretical critical thinking model for the psychomotor domain (cognitive organizing, cognitive action, cognitive and psychomotor outcomes, and metacognitive monitoring). (SM)

Reviews research indicating that students' cognitive models hold random events to be equiprobable Examined 87 students between the ages of 15 and 17 to determine whether masking a random event using geometric figures would affect the students' view of the event as equiprobable. Results indicated that masking overcame the equiprobable bias of the…

Mothers of gifted children were significantly more likely than mothers of average children to encourage metacognitive strategies, but mothers of average children provided more direct solutions and talked more about child nontask behavior. (RH)

Fifty junior high school students were compared on achievement subtests requiring either analytic/convergent or holistic/divergent cognitive processing. Underachievers performed as well as achievers on tasks requiring holistic processing but did not perform as well on detailed or computational tasks requiring precision, attention to detail, and/or…

Six fifth-grade children participated in a four-day teaching experiment on complex additively structured problems to investigate difficulties in concurrently holding in mind situations in which items play multiple roles. Difficulties included distinguishing take-away difference from comparison difference and indirect evaluation of an additive…

To examine cultural differences in planning processes, two instruments, one of which was a computer simulation, were used with 38 Brazilian and 38 German university students. Results are discussed from a functional perspective that interprets cognitive processes within their ecocultural context. (SLD)

Discusses knowledge, organization, and the organization and representation of knowledge. Addresses the relevance of international auxiliary languages as problems of development and use of special sign systems. Argues that--for computer realization of intellectual processes by modeling, not imitation--the psychological mechanisms of human memory…

Two experiments related structure of a task to underlying cognitive mechanisms. Found that 3-year olds were no better at predicting behavior from partially true beliefs than from entirely false beliefs. Three- and 4-year olds, and autistic children had distinct performance profiles across tasks. Concluded that conceptual foundations for a…

This study assessed use of five computerized analogy problems as a measure of mental speed with 62 children (ages 3-13) with mild/moderate mental retardation. Results found medium to high correlation between scores on the tasks and other cognitive measures and the adaptive behavior scale. The value of assessing cognitive speed in the cognitive…

Discusses the use of problem-solving activities in elementary-level science lessons. Sample activities include "Sparkling Christmas Presents,""Who Left the Message?," and "Parachute Descent". (WRM)

Background: Research on the relationship between cognitive skills and mathematical problem solving is usually conducted on adults or on participants with acquired deficits associated with brain injury (e.g. Cipolotti, 1995; Cohen, Dehaene, & Verstichel, 1994; McCloskey, 1992). Aims: In these studies we wanted to make a contribution to the…

A teaching unit on genetics and human inheritance using problem-solving methodology was undertaken with fourth-level Spanish Secondary Education students (15 year olds). The goal was to study certain aspects of the students' learning process (concepts, procedures and attitude) when using this methodology in the school environment. The change…

Recently, the importance of an everyday context in physics learning, teaching, and problem-solving has been emphasized. However, do students or physics educators really want to learn or teach physics problem-solving in an everyday context? Are there not any obstructive factors to be considered in solving the everyday context physics problems? To…

We present a conceptual framework for scaffolding ill-structured problem-solving processes using question prompts and peer interactions. We first examine the characteristics and processes of ill-structured problem solving, namely, problem representation, generating solutions, making justifications, and monitoring and evaluation. Then, we analyze…

This study compared novice, "intermediate" (graduate student), and expert orchestral conductors. Two novice conductors, one graduate student in orchestral conducting, and one expert conductor led a university symphony orchestra in part of the first movement of Brahms's Symphony No. 2. Wired for sound, conductors attempted to verbalize their…