Examines the shift in schools toward using software that teaches critical thinking skills. A list of 14 packages is also provided, with each entry including name, recommended age level(s), current cost, source, and a brief description. (JN)

Chronic psychiatric patients (N=7) who were enrolled in a partial-hospitalization program and had difficulty solving interpersonal problems received group skills training. Multiple-baseline design demonstrated training effectiveness through improved problem solving on trained situations and through skill generalization to novel, untrained…

Discusses current research (including that involving amnesiacs and snails) into the nature of the memory process, differentiating between and providing examples of "fact" memory and "skill" memory. Suggests that three brain parts (thalamus, fornix, mammilary body) are involved in the memory process. (JN)

A structural arithmetic curriculum is designed to help students develop their own powers of thought. (Author/MLF)

Considers well-structured problems versus ill-structured problems and presents models for how learners solve them, as well as models for designing instruction to support problem-solving skill development. Information processing theories of learning, an emerging theory of ill-structured problem solving, constructivist learning, and situated…

Evaluated effects of problem-solving skills training (PSST) and parent management training (PMT) on 97 children referred for severe antisocial behavior. Found that, compared to PSST condition or PMT condition, combination PSST and PMT condition led to more marked changes in child and parent functioning and placed greater proportion of youth within…

Discussion of learning how to solve problems focuses on instructional design models and how students construct their knowledge and learn skills. Topics discussed include conceptual knowledge; procedural knowledge and skills; knowledge representation; causal knowledge; types of knowledge and relevant skills; knowledge acquisition; prediction and…

Discusses how to use general semantics formulations to improve problem solving at home or at work--methods come from the areas of artificial intelligence/computer science, engineering, operations research, and psychology. (PA)

Problem Based Learning (PBL) has proven to be a highly successful pedagogical model in many educational fields, although it is comparatively uncommon in technical education. It goes beyond the typical teaching methodology by promoting student interaction. This paper presents a PBL trial applied to an undergraduate Digital Electronics course in the…

Given the privileged status claimed for active learning in a variety of domains (visuomotor learning, causal induction, problem solving, education, skill learning), the present study examines whether action-based learning is a necessary, or a sufficient, means of acquiring the relevant skills needed to perform a task typically described as…

Although the subject has been debated and examined for more than 3 decades, it is still not clear whether all psychotherapies are equally efficacious. The authors conducted 7 meta-analyses (with a total of 53 studies) in which 7 major types of psychological treatment for mild to moderate adult depression (cognitive-behavior therapy, nondirective…

Pragmatic social constructivist teaching methods require students to construct knowledge by engaging collaboratively with realistic problems, cases or projects. It is hypothesized that they are more effective than traditional didactic teaching methods in developing undergraduate students': (1) theoretical knowledge; (2) profession-specific skills;…

Certainly educators have different perspectives about what skills, attitudes, and knowledge students need for success in the information-based society of the third millennium and imminent future. However, in order to meet the demands of the global society, educators must think like futurists and must collaborate and share their expertise from…

When students are engaged in learning environments that allow for the practice of problem-solving skills, they are able to connect the classroom to the real world. Students with disabilities need to develop the skills of problem solving, and they need to know how to identify a problem, find the answer, and evaluate their choice. This article…

Studies of over 100 chess players at varying skill levels and ages show the ways in which experts and nonexperts differ in problem-solving strategies. Important differences are found at all stages of problem solving. The most significant differences appear to be before and after the evaluation of alternatives ("sizing up" the problem,…