Judgements about the acceptability of anomalous and non-anomalous sentences were elicted from children between the ages of 2;0 and 5;0. The aim was to see how the children's direct experience might affect their recognition of semantic constraints, and how far their experience would generalize. (Author)

Examined relations between ratings of mother-child interactions in a problem-solving situation at school entry and academic achievement in grades 2, 3, and 4. Data on the child's cognitive and fine-motor ability and mother's education were also collected at school entry. Academic achievement was assessed with the Iowa Test of Basic Skills.…

Proposes that formal properties of speech reflect individuals' mental processes during problem solving, focusing on ways native and non-native speakers of English construct narrative. In difficult tasks, speakers cope by externalizing their inner order as private speech, whose content and formal properties reflect cognitive processes. It is argued…

Describes grade-appropriate weekly activities designed to appeal directly to students by giving them open-ended questions. Activities may be worked on individually, in pairs, or in small groups. This particular set of activities focuses on stories from literature involving measurement, earning money, marketing a product, and setting up a…

Explored the extent to which retrospective reports of childhood emotional bonds with parents and current adult attachment orientations predicted the capacity for constructive thinking within a sample of 145 undergraduate students. Both factors significantly predicted constructive thinking scores, thus linking attachment-related experiences to the…

Examined is the relationship between junior high school students' directional reasoning about rates and numerical reasoning on proportion-related word problems. The relationship between the ability to solve context-free fraction exercises and the ability to solve mathematically similar word problems is discussed. (KR)

Described are the general problem-solving strategies and their nature and functions. The importance of integrating different types of general problem-solving strategies with content-specific teaching in mathematics classes is discussed. (KR)

Examines the articulation of theoretical issues in learning that is taking place through studies of instruction that are grounded in descriptions of competence. Discusses programs for the acquisition of proceduralized knowledge, the development of self-regulatory strategies, and the structuring of knowledge for problem solving. (JS)

Examines the issues surrounding the implementation of thinking skills programs in public school curricula. Seeks to classify thinking skills, to provide options for selection of an instructional framework, and to suggest guidelines for teacher training in thinking skills curricula. (SR)

Research of expert-novice differences is reviewed seeking to show experts possess a large body of domain specific knowledge. It was postulated that experts possess schemas enabling them to classify problems, call up the appropriate automated rules, then apply these to obtain the solution. (DC)

Learning-disabled ninth-graders (n=58) completed a modified Piagetian isolation-of-variables task, and were compared to normally achieving ninth-graders and fourth-graders. Through cluster analysis, four different patterns of task approach were identified, representing normal performance, general conceptual disorder, specific developmental delay,…

Reviews Dreyfus's writings about human cognition and artificial intelligence (AI), and explains some of the implications of his position, particularly in education. Topics include Dreyfus' critique of AI, representationlaism and expertise, technology and its role in instruction, computer-assisted instruction, and intelligent tutoring systems. (JKP)

Presents two seasonally related investigations involving arithmetic series to develop critical thinking: (1) the number of candles needed for the eight nights of Hanukkah, and (2) the number of presents given during "The Twelve Days of Christmas." Students also calculated the amount of money needed to buy all the presents. (MDH)

Cognitive and metacognitive demands of initial information gathering for elementary school research assignments were studied for 23 6th graders during think-aloud/concurrent interviews. Results support the view that information retrieval and use in libraries is a problem solving task requiring flexible application of various forms of knowledge.…

Describes an instructional framework for teaching advanced cognitive skills in postsecondary education, highlighting specific teaching strategies that community and technical college educators may use to encourage critical thinking among students. Includes a description of content, teaching methodologies, and sequence of student development.…