States that the perception of failure will determine a person's reaction when faced with a problem, how he/she tries to solve the problem, and if he/she is successful/unsuccessful at solving the problem. Argues that failure need not be a threat to personal being but should be a learning tool--an experience necessary for mastery. (PA)

Describes how leaders and instructors in the Art Department of Longview Community College in Kansas City, Missouri, found a solution to incorporating a desired renovation feature (a sink in the ceramics and clay studio) within budget constraints. (EV)

Discusses algorithmic problem solving in computer science education, particularly algorithmic insight, and focuses on the relevance and effectiveness of the heuristic simplifying constraints which involves simplification of a given problem to a problem in which constraints are imposed on the input data. Presents three examples involving…

Study examined relationship between university students' living arrangements; their identity development status; degree of life difficulties experienced; and manner in which they coped with difficulties. In general, those who did not reside at home had greater levels of problems; used more direct, problem-focused coping strategies to solve their…

Uses single-group pretest-posttest design to examine the impact of problem-based learning (PBL) on problem-framing ability of students enrolled in the Prospective Principals Program at Stanford University. Finds that the greater the students' exposure to PBL the greater their problem-framing ability. (Contains 30 references.) (PKP)

Reviews significant findings of recent brain research, including the concept of five minds: automatic, subconscious, practical, creative, and spiritual. Suggests approaches to training the brain that are related to this hierarchy of thinking. (JOW)

A survey of 544 junior high technology education programs in Japan indicated that the structure of project-based learning activities coincided with the DeLuca model. Student projects were supported by self-evaluation competencies and motivation. Learning activities promoted development of technological problem-solving skills. (SK)

Discusses students' exploration of a particular rational function in the context of people waiting in line for service. The concepts of domain, range, and asymptotes are also developed in that context as is the effect of changes in input variables on function outputs. (Author/NB)

Presents a teaching-learning method for enhancing problem solving and motivation for studying science in secondary schools. Emerges from a former survey which, found that the motivation of 14-18-year-olds as measured by the Kozekik-Entwistle test was at a rather low level. (Contains 16 references.) (Author/YDS)

Describes the process and outcome of including in assignments and examinations some questions requiring written answers along with traditional questions requiring only numerical calculations. Lists questions used in a chemical engineering course on separation processes along with sample responses from students. Student feedback indicates a…

Instead of avoiding all conflict, teachers should let students work through conflict to create new learning opportunities. This paper presents the case for and against conflict, discusses the cost of passivity and tranquility, and suggests a fundamental adjustment in perspective that will afford more opportunities for students to delve into…

Although there is still routine in most jobs, knowledge work, in which workers combine and interpret information to find solutions for new problems, is becoming more prevalent. This implies a fundamental change in the relationship between working and learning. (Contains 16 references.) (Author/JOW)

Considers the ethnography of communication, conversation analysis and systemic functional linguistics as frameworks for the analysis of classroom discourse. Discusses their basic assumptions, some of the similarities and differences between them, and their different strengths and weaknesses as resources for applied linguistic problem solving.…

Two organizational problem situations were worked on by 61 teams in 4 conditions: (1) controls, (2) traditional process (goal clarity, commitment, decision making), (3) team learning (assumption surfacing, dialog, reflection), and (4) combined 2 and 3. Team learning produced significantly more double-loop learning. Controls achieved more…

Describes how modifying familiar classroom formats in a college geometry class helped encourage student problem solving. Demonstrates these modified formats in the context of problems students explored, which resemble the problem-solving settings of mathematicians. (KHR)