Cognitive apprenticeship teaches acceptable performance, integration of practical and theoretical knowledge, and understanding specific situations. Five phases are involved: modeling, approximating, fading, self-directed learning, and generalizing. (SK)

Reviews research on consultative problem solving. Contends that, although there is general support for effectiveness of consultation in resolving problems and in improving consultees' skills for solving future problems, there is need for additional methods to facilitate the process. Suggests direct training of consultees in behavior management,…

Whether anomalous information causes an increase in questions generated by college students as they solve quantitative problems or comprehend stories was studied in 5 experiments involving 160 undergraduates. Results support an anomaly hypothesis that predicts more questions when there are anomalous transformations of original problems or stories.…

Presents Cevian geometry problems (involving a segment that joins a triangle's vertex to a non-vertex point on opposite side) that illustrate how to implement methods for developing flexible strategies of problem solving, finding multiple representations, and making connections to other areas of mathematics and the real world. (ASK)

Argues that the way in which students solve a particular problem can be analyzed to gain insight into how students think about the mathematics involved. Discusses the use of knowledge gained from listening to student conversations about their strategies to orchestrate classroom discussions. (ASK)

Integrating multicultural activities into mathematics instruction at all grade levels helps to foster appropriate and desirable attitudes about mathematics and its role in our culture. Multicultural investigations in mathematics reveal that many practices common to today's classrooms (such as reasonable guessing) served as the basis for solving…

Reports observations of the use of mental aerobics with 48 adults whose median age was 70. Provides examples of the group puzzles and logic, math, and word problems used to enhance cognitive functioning and creative thinking. (SK)

Solution-focused counseling (SFC) brings a positive, competency-based perspective to problems experienced by individuals and organizational systems. Instead of looking for what is wrong and how to fix it, this approach discovers what is already working and investigates how to use it. SFC employs five principles: a salutary centerpiece, exceptional…

A study examined the distinguishing characteristics of 37 successful creative problem-solving (CPS) facilitators. Common traits included flexibility, ability to lead a CPS session successfully, confidence in the process, involving the right people, listening to the client and resource members, and interpersonal and group-dynamic skills. (Author/CR)

To help users develop a long-term strategy for software acquisition, this article outlines two rules: (1) "Know exactly the nature of the problem you want to solve"; and (2) "If you can't try it, don't buy it." Use the sharpest precision software tool you can find to solve your problem and keep a constant look out for something…

Investigates how 10th-grade students acquire, extend, and successively relate knowledge about qualitative and quantitative aspects of classical mechanics. Analysis of the multicomponent tests revealed that qualitative, as well as quantitative, knowledge can be taught successfully using concept maps. (Author/CCM)

Presents an activity carried out by aboriginal students that addresses solving a real-life problem that could be linked to number sequence, graph theory, and combinations. Contains 14 references. (ASK)

Presents an overview of how a number of cognitive factors are involved in solving quantitative problems by secondary-school students categorized as skilled and less-skilled. Gives illustrations for the solving of basic and complex composite problems in chemistry. Suggests directions for enhancing instruction in problem solving based in this…

Discussion of performance assessments that test for higher-order thinking and problem solving focuses on research by the National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing (CRESST) that assessed student problem solving using networked computers and the Web, where both performance and process data could be reported back to…

Assessed the effectiveness of instruction in promoting sixth-grade students' conceptual understanding of the concept of averages using a leveling model and an open-ended problem-solving approach. Found that students were more capable of using the leveling approach and applying formal averaging algorithm to solve problems than using the open-ended…