This paper presents two examples in which technology, in this case a fairly sophisticated authoring system--ToolBook, was used as a tool to construct student understandings in mathematics. In doing so, students were able: (1) to successfully identify the variables (unknowns) and the information given (data) in the problem; and (2) to create…

This paper describes a computer-simulation model of the way in which basic reasoning processes develop in children. The model, based on PRISM-II programming language, was designed to reflect the manner in which world knowledge can be used to construct strategies for reasoning. The model learns strategies for performing transitive inference by…

Educators can help themselves and others improve their creative thinking. Before the improvement can begin, there must be a common understanding of what creativity is. Edward Land described creativity as the sudden cessation of stupidity. Several barriers to creative thinking include boredom, lack of challenge, believing expertise in a particular…

This paper reports the results of a phenomenographic study which focused on identifying and describing the conceptions of programming and related phenomena of about 120 computer science and computer engineering students learning to program. The report begins by tracing developments in the students' conceptions of programming and its parts, and…

It is becoming increasingly important to teach students higher-order thinking skills in addition to mere factual knowledge. Recent scientific and technological advances offer significant opportunities to implement more effective teaching of these skills. By investigating intellectual processes, cognitive science has led to a significantly better…

Children's nonschool learning provides a foundation for school instruction and problem-solving. Examples of nonschool learning are taken from various cultures. This study examines what young children know about written numerals in their everyday environment, how they come to understand the meaning of written numerals, and how they use this…

Leaders in mathematics education are calling for a reorganization of the mathematics curriculum around concept development and problem solving. For many elementary teachers, the limitations of their knowledge about mathematics and teaching mathematics constrains their ability to teach conceptually. If prospective elementary teachers are to…

Everyday life provides individuals with countless opportunities for observing and interacting with objects in motion. Although everyone presumably has some sort of knowledge about motion, it is by no means clear what form(s) this knowledge may take. The research described in this paper determined what sorts of knowledge are in fact acquired…

The development of game theory was a response to a need to understand human decision making processes in situations of incomplete or imperfect information. By reducing decision making situations to probability game systems, it is possible to analyze and test various competitive strategies that maximize wins and minimize losses. Although game…

Much recent cognitive and artificial intelligence research has focused on the development of "schema theory." This theory supposes the existence of knowledge and memory structures that encode prototypical descriptions of familiar concepts. Schema theory has developed in a scientific environment that stresses interdisciplinary approaches…

A BOOKLET DESIGNED FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOL STUDENTS TO BE USED INDEPENDENTLY FROM AND IN ADDITION TO THE REGULAR CLASSROOM CURRICULUM IN MATHEMATICS IS PRESENTED. THE PURPOSE IS TO TEACH THE FIFTH- OR SIXTH-GRADE STUDENT TO USE GOOD JUDGMENT AND REASONING IN LOCATING THE DECIMAL POINT. A DISCUSSION OF THE PURPOSE AND IMPORTANCE OF BEING ABLE,…

THE 1ST YEAR OF OPERATION OF THE RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT CENTER FOR LEARNING AND RE-EDUCATION AT THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN WAS REVIEWED. BASIC RESEARCH IN CONCEPT LEARNING WAS CONDUCTED BY MEANS OF LABORATORY EXPERIMENTS AND COMPUTER SIMULATION. CONCEPT LEARNING IN THE SUBJECT AREAS OF MATHEMATICS, ENGLISH COMPOSITION, SCIENCE, SPEECH, AND…

This document is an annotated listing of national and international curricular projects concerned with problem solving and concept formation at the early childhood level. It contains 50 citations. (WD)

This investigation compares overt judgments about tenable hypotheses to choices in a concept identification task, as a function of stimulus similarity on successive trials. Two mathematical models are tested: (a) A 1-element local consistency version of Restle's concept identification model and (b) the same model with two additional passive states…

The author suggests that, through using the outlined question model and suggested classroom activities, elementary students will improve their abilities to analyze routine, one-step word problems and make a plan for the solution. It is further argued that the same algorithm can be applied to multistep problems by using specified questions. (PK)