A study of 147 Westinghouse Science Talent Search winners classified 57 subjects as independent problem finders. They were asked to select five of the 31 factors in Guilford's Structure of Intellect model which best described the process of choosing their research question. Implications for educating secondary science students are discussed. (VW)

Research indicates that students have great difficulty solving algebra word problems and that few high school seniors have mastered the fundamentals of algebra, let alone algebra problem-solving skills. Improving students' algebra problem solving skills is considered to be critically important by those who have worked on reforming mathematics…

The study reported here extends the investigation begun by Piaget of content effects to laboratory and naturalistic tasks. If the accuracy and completeness of the subjects' expected variables is related to content, then performance on laboratory and naturalistic tasks should differ systematically. The subjects' expected variables were measured by…

A curricular anchor is a complex problem that students acknowledge as worth solving and that validates learning a set of relevant skills and concepts. To motivate students, anchors must capture the imagination, be perceived as important by learners, legitimize the disciplinary content they integrate, and accommodate a variety of learning…

Examines problem complexity, inquiry method, learning style, and presentation method to quantify the magnitude of their effects on learning scientific inquiry in high school science curriculum. Recommends the use of collaborative learning tools to accommodate diverse learning styles in distance learning environments and proposes a paradigm for…

Seven theme articles discuss the importance for vocational agricultural teachers to allow students to work through the solution to problems posed in classroom situations, learning and teaching styles, the Secretary's Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills report, the use of experimentation as experiential learning, and problem solving as the key…

Reviews assumptions about learners, learning, and the learning environment in an information age economy. Argues that one approach to encourage literacy and lifelong learning is to bring students' natural learning abilities (especially problem solving) into the school environment. (RS)

Completion of the Group Embedded Figures Test by 237 secondary marketing education students determined that most students, particularly females, had only low to moderate restructuring skills, needed for complex cognitive tasks; and most had career goals congruent with their attitudes and social skills but not their cognitive aptitude for…

A study of the cognitive style characteristics of marketing education students focused on reasoning and problem solving. Field dependence theory measured particular cognitive styles in secondary school marketing education classrooms and estimated implications for reasoning and problem-solving behavior among currently enrolled students. The study…

A three-step process for teaching situational problem-solving and critical thinking to learning disabled adolescents is described: (1) Motivation (recognizing the problem and the importance of solving it); (2) Association (relating the problem to similar past situations); (3) Processing (identifying possible solutions and choosing the most…

Two hundred gifted and talented secondary students received an intensive exposure to a diverse array of learning and thinking experiences (indirect training) while 68 graduate students received intensive training in creative problem solving with emphasis on right cerebral hemisphere functions (direct training). (CL)

Written for curriculum developers and vocational education instructors, this publication provides an understanding of cognitive concepts and methods using an information processing paradigm and shows how to apply this knowledge in development of curriculum and instructional plans. Chapter 1 reviews needs and characteristics of vocational education…

The development of a theory of algebraic problem solving is discussed. The domain of the investigation is restricted to single sentence word problems. There were three experiments, the first involving 42 college students from the University of California, Santa Barbara. These subjects were divided into two groups, half in an equation group and…

Recently, investigators in behavior and community disciplines have advocated the adoption of positive prevention approaches for life transition problem-solving. Techniques in physiological, cognitive, and behavioral modalities were incorporated into a broad-based intervention program focusing on the acquisition of coping responses to handle life…

This paper studies the modes of thought that occur during the act of solving problems in mathematics. It examines the two main instantiations of mathematical knowledge, the conceptual and the structural, and their role in the act. It claims that awareness of mathematical structure is the lever that educes mathematical knowledge existing in the…