These two issues of a newsletter address the use of computers in developing complex thinking skills. The first issue, for May 1986, includes articles on: environmental science computer applications; computers and higher order thinking in Mineola, New York; a description of case study research identifying effective uses of computers in developing…

Although over 5,000 children and adolescents commit suicide annually, little is known about suicidal thinking of normal children. Due to ethical considerations, researchers must be sensitive to the possibility that they could introduce suicide as an option to a child. A methodology was developed to examine suicidal thinking through projected…

Biases in judgment reveal some heuristics of thinking about uncertainty. Three heuristics are discussed. (Author/RH)

Paper discusses in some detail the design of a problem-solving monitor and includes an annotated student protocol and the corresponding problem-solving graph. (Author)

Research supported by Grant No. GB-6839 from the National Science Foundation.

INTERRELATIONS AMONG PHYSIOLOGICAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL VARIABLES OPERATING DURING PROBLEM-SOLVING TRIALS WERE STUDIED. A SIMULTANEOUS ANALYSIS OF THESE VARIABLES AIMS AT A STUDY OF STRESSES DEVELOPING WHEN SUBJECTS ATTEMPT PROBLEM-SOLVING. QUESTION-STUDY INTERPRETIVE TECHNIQUES AND PROBLEMS REFERENCED IN EARLIER REPORTS (ED 003 005 AND ED 003 006)…

THE EFFECT OF ANXIETY ON COGNITIVE PROCESS HAS BEEN AN AREA OF EXTENSIVE RESEARCH. CONSIDERABLE EVIDENCE HAS INDICATED THAT HIGH ANXIOUS SUBJECTS ARE INFERIOR TO LOW ANXIOUS SUBJECTS ON COMPLEX COGNITIVE TASKS. ANOTHER FACTOR WHICH MAY INFLUENCE THE EFFECTS OF ANXIETY IS THE CONDITIONS UNDER WHICH A TASK IS PRESENTED. RECENT RESEARCH HAS SUGGESTED…

The approach to problem solving which is presented has two components--closeness and reformulation. The closeness measure is a cognitively-based heuristic function. It incorporates the notion of what cognition notices as the structural difference between two situations. The problem-solver attempts to close the structural gap, and once this is done…

Reports on a study of the cognitive strategies people use in arriving at judgments about environmental problems. (GW)

Contains (1) A Comment on "Protocols, Retrospective Reports, and the Stream of Consciousness" (Victor J. Vitanza); (2) "Erwin R. Steinberg Responds"; (3) A Comment on "Intertextuality and the Cultural Text in Recent Semiotics" (Stephen Kogan); and (4) Two Comments on "College English" (Kenneth E. Eble, Jean…

The study examined cognitive strategies of 21 moderately and severely retarded adults in a simplified Tower of Hanoi problem. Modification of the basic problem by reducing the number of rules and presenting the goal configuration resulted in successful performance during the first training session by 13 subjects. (DB)

Examines problem-solving in selected software, considering what packages really teach and how useful they are in classrooms. Includes a table listing 21 packages with information in such categories as: suggested ages; solving standard logic puzzles; trial/error or predicting outcomes; breaking tasks into smaller parts; drawing conclusions; and…

Results of participant-observation techniques used to study the everyday cognition and problem-solving process in marketing tasks defined and organized by mildly mentally retarded adults, revealed five "composites" of strategic behavior. An association between composite and early life experiences was also shown. (Author/CL)

The article, while focusing on mathematics and problem-solving characteristics, reexamines the definition of "mathematically gifted," and discusses current practices and some areas of concern related to the identification of the mathematically gifted. It also calls for an identification procedure which includes information about qualities of the…