The authors hypothesize that a means-end strategy places a load on cognitive processing capacity which retards knowledge acquisition. Three experiments using trigonometry problems with high school students were conducted in which the problem goal was modified to disrupt strategy used by novices. Results supported the authors' hypothesis.…

General education programs need not be circuitous or formless. They should: stress development of the intellect; focus on problem-solving skills; integrate general objectives and professional competencies; and foster interdisciplinary studies. (MSE)

Presents model aimed at resolution of discrepancies between group objectives and individual behavior under certain conditions using step-by-step analysis based on game theory. May be applied by administrators or managers to educational, industrial, or bureaucratic situations where these "people problems" are present. (NEC)

Presents a five-step model for problem solving in approaching composition writing assignments. Explains how it worked in an actual classroom setting. (EL)

Discusses the concept of quality, relates quality to four themes of the evolving science curriculum, and examines implications for science teacher education. The four curriculum development themes focus on problem-solving skills, the cultural heritage, a conceptual framework of the realm of science, and moral/ethical issues resulting from…

Identifies procedure to help classroom teachers infuse problem solving into the typical technology education classroom. The five steps involved are (1) set a goal the student can attain, (2) define a task that incorporates new actions and ideas, (3) provide a structure, (4) force the student to choose between several alternatives, and (5) make the…

Presents ideas to improve education, including employing increasingly effective group procedures, teaching techniques of cooperative planning and group problem solving, developing skills of cooperative assessment and self-evaluation, and developing skills of propaganda analysis. (CT)

Two groups of nursery school children were administered the Preschool Interpersonal Problem Solving Test. The father absent group scored significantly lower, indicating a deficit in the type of thinking believed central to the child's adjustment to other people. Adds to studies citing possible negative effects of father absence in preschool years.…

Discusses collaborative work as part of the school reform movement. Includes case examples of five collaborative programs. Also provides a list of guidelines for developing collaborative programs. (MD)

Consumer education should be part of our educational system, teaching a way of thinking and problemsolving that is transferable to new circumstances in the future. It should be part of the foundation on which we begin to build a more responsive and humane world. (MD)

Performance on patient management problems and multiple-choice questions was analyzed for candidates for American Board of Internal Medicine certification whose residencies had been problem-oriented, for candidates whose residencies had been classified as nonproblem-oriented, and for the national pool of U.S. medical graduates. (Author/MLW)

TK!Solver is a general purpose problem-solving tool allowing users to enter sets of equations that characterize problem areas in a variety of mathematically-oriented fields (finance, engineering, physics, economics). Indicates that this latest version alleviates problems found in the initial version, in particular with speed, now faster in all…

Proposes novel methods of solving mechanics and dynamics problems by changing frames of reference. Uses these ideas to pursue Einstein's notions of inertial and uniformly rotating reference frames, gravitational and inertial mass, and the gravitational bending of light in relation to the simple original problem. (JM)

Argues that thinking and problem solving should be taught as part of an interactive process between these cognitive abilities and the acquisition of domain-specific knowledge, rather than as add-ons to knowledge. (CMG)

In a one-week symposium, college students learned about the social psychology of international conflict through a role-play of the Arab-Israeli conflict. The symposium also included lectures and required readings. (RM)