A distinction can be made between the term "creativity" and creative thinking skills. Creativity typically refers to a talent for original and masterful production in the arts and sciences, and there is scant evidence that teachers have any influence on creativity of this kind. Creative thinking refers to a group of six thinking skills that if…

Ninety-two subjects solved a series of problems without enough time to finish and worked at a pace and in an order determined by the experimenter (Experimenter- Paced) or at their own pace and order under self-administered time deadlines (Self-Paced). Self-pacing resulted in superior performance on rote and poorer performance on cognitive problems…

This study investigated a theoretical structure which attempts to explain the problem-solving strategies used by first-grade students who are successful in solving simple arithmetic story problems. The structure used describes the problem-solving procedure as consisting of a three-stage model building process: (1) comprehending the story, (2)…

Linear syllogisms present two premises, each describing a relation between two terms. The individual's task is to infer the relation among the three terms of the linear syllogism, and then answer a question about one or more of these relations. For example, "John is taller than Bob. Sam is shorter than Bob. Who is the tallest?" Students…

It has been suggested that cognitive style interacts with performance on tasks measuring formal thought. It is hypothesized that cognitive style interacts with task context rather than with the underlying formal thought processes. Experiments are reported to clarify the type of task that elicits an interaction and to determine whether such…

This selected bibliography lists 489 monographs, articles, and reports dealing with reasoning skills and their applications to social science problems. These citations, representing those items acquired by the Center for Reasoning Studies at Piedmont Technical College, include theoretical works on problem-solving, values education,…

A comparative analysis of two decision making strategies was conducted. One strategy compared alternatives on their best attributes for "the best payoff," while the other strategy called for accepting the first alternative that achieved all minimum cutoff values for all attributes. The subjects, 211 college students, selected a mayoral preference…

This curriculum program is intended to promote the development of primary grade children's ability to think. A number of learning activities or tasks are presented along with the teaching strategy to be used in implementing them. The first part of the book describes aspects of the teaching strategy, including selecting activities, preparing for…

AN ADDRESS FOR CLASSROOM TEACHERS IS PRESENTED WHICH CONSIDERS THE NATURE OF COMPREHENSION AND THE PROCESSES INVOLVED IN TEACHING CHILDREN TO COMPREHEND WHAT THEY READ. A REVIEW OF THE RESEARCH ON COMPREHENSION SINCE 1960 IS GIVEN. THE FOLLOWING TOPICS ARE DISCUSSED--THE PROCESS OF COMPREHENDING, THE KINDS OF COMPREHENSION, THE RELATIONSHIP…

OVER 40 ARTICLES AND STUDIES RELATED TO THE PIAGETIAN THEORY OF COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT ARE CRITICALLY REVIEWED AS A BASIS FOR SUGGESTING APPLICATIONS OF THE THEORY TO EDUCATIONAL EVALUATION. PIAGET'S CONCEPTS ARE ANALYZED WITHIN TWO BROAD CATEGORIES, THE STAGE OF CONCRETE OPERATIONS, FROM APPROXIMATELY SEVEN TO 11 YEARS OF AGE, AND THE STAGE OF…

Systematic investigations have verified the existence of a number of behavioral manifestations of the "Type A" behavior pattern. For example, brief exposure to salient uncontrollable stress has led to enhanced performance by Type A's on a subsequent task, whereas prolonged exposure has lead to performance deterioration. The ongoing experiences of…

This investigation used a clinical interview technique to identify the difficulties of kindergarten children who are unable to develop models or representations of simple arithmetic story problems. It is hypothesized that effective human problem solvers first generate some type of "physical model" and use this model to create a…

The document provides lesson plans for strengthening the thought processes, including problem solving and creative abilities, of first and second grade mentally gifted children. The lessons are organized within the five operations of the mind as defined by J. Guilford's Structure of Intellect (SOI): cognition (10 lessons), memory (3 lessons),…

The document provides lesson plans for strengthening the thought processes, including problem solving and creative abilities, of third and fourth grade mentally gifted children. The lessons are organized within the five operations of the mind as defined by J. Guilford's Structure of Intellect (SOI): cognition (10 lessons), memory (6 lessons),…

The document provides lesson plans for strengthening the thought processes, including problem solving and creative abilities, of fifth and sixth grade mentally gifted children. The lessons are organized within the five operations of the mind as defined by J. Guilford's Structure of Intellect (SOI): cognition (16 lessons), memory (7 lessons),…