Describes a problem-solving-oriented teacher-inservice program designed to provide opportunities that allow elementary teachers to focus on personal experience as a way of achieving self-understanding and a way of reconstructing their personal meanings about problem solving and problem-solving instruction. Concludes that the program had positive…

Discusses the problem-based learning (PBL) model, including underlying principles and the three phases of the cyclical process: (1) problem development; (2) initiation of PBL events, inquiry, and investigation; and (3) problem solution. A case study illustrates use of PBL in an educational psychology class. A table lists sample problems for…

Presents dynamics and measurements of subjective experience of problem irresolvability (SEPI). First study describes construction and factor analysis of scale and its relationship to suicidal tendencies, hopelessness, depression, anxiety, and commitment to parents. Second study presents factor analysis and association between SEPI scale and…

Investigated gender differences in problem-solving discourse, analyzing preschoolers' spontaneous task-related talk for the frequency of collaborative speech acts (exploring possible links with greater help-eliciting among girls). Girls nearly exclusively used collaborative speech. Those using collaborative speech initiated more verbal turns and…

This article explains the use of mediation to improve special education partnerships between families and schools. Benefits and drawbacks to mediation are described, along with strategies for finding out about mediation in individual states and finding a mediator. Information on the Consortium for Appropriate Dispute Resolution in Special…

Interviews with 35 parents of children with cochlear implants found that one type of parent has initial and exclusive contact through a medical practitioner and is motivated by desire for a normal communication situation and the second type learns about implants from family or teachers and is motivated by lack of communication skills. (Contains…

Discusses clinical problem analysis (CPA) in medical education, an approach to solving complex clinical problems. Outlines the five step CPA model and examines the value of CPA's content-independent (methodical) approach. Argues that teaching students to use CPA will enable them to avoid common diagnostic reasoning errors and pitfalls. Compares…

Discusses strategies for teaching problem-solving techniques during an engineering design course in the third year of a four-year degree program. Describes the content of six problem-solving curricular modules, course organization, evaluation and assessment, and results. (Contains 28 references.) (WRM)

In a recent attempt to infuse her instructional design course at Penn State with the problem-based approach, the author began using real-world cases as the centerpiece for the class. This article describes the course requirements, how cases work, and probably pitfalls to this approach. Two sidebars include an Occupational Hearing Conservation…

Studies young children's designs in an early years design, make, and appraise (DMA) classroom. Examines several issues including the connection between designing and making, the purpose of drawing for young children, children's understanding of the design process, types of images used by young children, and children's attitudes toward designing…

Presents graphing calculator activities that rely on resolving the magnitude and direction form of vectors into their Cartesian components so that they are suitable as applications for vector or trigonometric relationships for years 10-12. (ASK)

In a study conducted in two large school districts, 279 educational administrators expressed a strong desire for training in the major areas of educational leadership that were assessed: (1) the principalship; (2) problem solving; (3) planning for school growth; (4) personal awareness; (5) staff development; (6) long-range planning; and (7) the…

Describes how teachers of the gifted can make the study of mathematics dynamic, innovative, and creative through the exploration of problem-solving skills and real-life applications. Math competitions and general academic competitions that include mathematics for elementary schools, middle schools, and high schools are highlighted. (CR)

Argues that students are conditioned by years of multiple-choice testing to use only simple recall and view knowledge as an uncataloged museum full of independent facts that are collected, recited, and left to gather dust. (DDR)

Describes Controlled-Operation Mechanical Energy Transducers (COMETs), which are part of a project to introduce sophomore chemical engineering students to a number of important engineering concepts that are usually addressed later in the academic program. (DDR)