Case-based learning is one method that can be used to foster critical thinking and schema construction. Students need to be provided with problem solving lessons in meaningful learning contexts for critical thinking to take place. In order for schema construction to occur, a framework needs to be provided that helps readers to elaborate upon new…

This paper examines sixth-grade children's thinking related to solving ratio and proportion problems before these children had received any instruction in the domain. It explores unitizing and norming, one of the processes identified by both content analyses (Behr, Harel, Post, & Lesh, 1990); Harel, Behr, Post & Lesh, 1990) and research in…

The objective of this study was to provide data related to learning styles and to learning environments, to identify appropriate experiences for the non-major biology student. Investigated was whether congruence existed between a measured amount of cognitive process or analytical skill and the resultant answer on a test question which required…

Ongoing work toward developing a learning environment that will perform real-time diagnoses of students' difficulties in solving mathematical word problems is described. The learning environment designed consists of a microworld and expert modules. The microworld (or toolbox) is a collection of mouse-driven interfaces that facilitate a transition…

The case study is designed to be used with the inservice training program developed by the Child-Centered Inservice Training and Technical Assistance Network (Syracuse, New York), which provides services to professional and paraprofessional personnel working with students with severe disabilities receiving their education in regular education…

Different ways student-generated learning issues are used to deal with disciplinary content were assessed at seven North American medical schools with problem-based curricula. Structured interviews with key faculty representing the schools being studied suggested that the seven programs are encouraging the development of self-directed learning…

Many educators recommend the "Geometric Supposer" as exemplary software. This study compared the achievement of one high school class that used the software and a similar class that did not. The treatment class used the software once every 2 weeks throughout the school year. The SRA Achievement Test was used as a pretest and the Houghton-Mifflin…

This practicum was designed to solve a problem related to the provision of a computer training component for students enrolled in an early childhood education teacher training program. Increasing pressures on graduates of the training program to integrate computers and educational software into programs for young children as well as the students'…

To increase understanding of workplace literacy, a study investigated whether data from structured interviews conducted in two previous studies of job literacy and job performance relationships support the process model of literacy proposed by Linda Flower and John Hayes, "A Cognitive Process Theory of Writing." In both studies, this…

This paper summarizes a report designed to provide the National Science Board Commission with information about recent advances in cognitive/behavioral science relevant to mathematics, science, and technology education, as well as prospective contributions from these fields if adequate levels of support are available. Following a summary…

The Individualized Professional Development Process (IPDP) was developed for the Brookfield, Connecticut school district by a private consultant. Participation in IPDP is voluntary in Brookfield. However, once selected as a participant, a staff member goes through a professional development process. The individual, along with his immediate…

Problem definition appears to influence problem solving outcomes with respect to their quality. In order to determine whether or not families, confronted as a group by a series of possibly problematic situations, would engage in a problem definition phase, and whether or not the phase or its absence would be related to family members' satisfaction…

Growth occurs when the need for change is recognized by the individual through self-analysis, and when measures to effect the change are self-initiated. In this course the student is actively involved at every step in self-evaluation, identifying problem areas in her or his relationships and environment, selecting topics and issues for research,…

This compilation consists of 26 consecutive issues of the journal "Seedbed," published from February 1979 through July 1986. Each issue contains articles written by teachers for teachers. "Seedbed" is an outcome of the Teachers' Center Project at Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville. It is designed to be neither scholarly nor trivial. Each…

The cognitivist view of composition suggests that if students are supplied with a set of writing strategies, they will learn to think in more complex and powerful ways, observing their own ideas and writing from another person's viewpoint. On the other hand, some social critics argue that composition teachers need to help their students enter into…