This article describes rational analyses and cognitive models of Web users developed within information foraging theory. This is done by following the rational analysis methodology of (a) characterizing the problems posed by the environment, (b) developing rational analyses of behavioral solutions to those problems, and (c) developing cognitive…

Similarity underlies fundamental cognitive capabilities such as memory, categorization, decision making, problem solving, and reasoning. Although recent approaches to similarity appreciate the structure of mental representations, they differ in the processes posited to operate over these representations. We present an experiment that…

This interview with Dr. Hallie Preskill focuses on the organizational change method known as appreciative inquiry (AI), which is described as a process that builds on past successes (and peak experiences) in an effort to design and implement future actions. Preskill takes the philosophy and principles put forth by organizational change AI…

It is not always easy for a teacher to relate to his or her students. To communicate with students, it is important for a teacher to relate the subject that he or she is trying to teach is something that the students know, or at least to something that the students care about. In this article, the author, a genetics teacher, relates how he used…

The perspective of communities as a situated context dates back to the works of Vygotsky (1978, 1981) who posited that cognition begins at the social inter-mental level and through the process of internalization meanings become translated or assimilated into the individual level. Within this social to individual transition, learners can be…

This article comprises the results of a qualitative study designed to examine community college leaders' attitudes toward problem-based learning as a method for teaching leadership. The respondents in the study participated in a year-long community college leadership academy, which used problem-based learning as the primary instructional method.…

Many educational development resources recommend making conventional lectures more interactive. However, there is little firm evidence supporting either the acceptability (to students) or efficacy of doing so. This research examined the use of short 'interactive windows' (discussions and problem-solving exercises) in first year evolution lectures…

Most educators increasingly regard ill-structured problem solving as an important objective of learning and have sought various means to achieve it. In this article, we describe a learning environment to help pre-service teachers in Singapore solve ill-structured problems. There are four key dimensions in our learning environment: tutor-led…

Leadership has been characterized by particular personal qualities and traits, specifically one?s ability to influence others? thoughts, energies, emotions, feelings, or behaviors within the scope of emergent leadership (Farrall & Kronberg, 1996). Based on self organization patterns of groups, a leader emerges while other group members move into…

The paper reports on an initiative to develop the knowledge, skills and attitudes needed for a sustainable environment. The initiative involved the training of pre-service teachers to not only be aware of, or know about environmental problems and want to act for the environment, but also to be able to act for the environment. Small group community…

The conditions under which explicit instruction in checking, combined with worked examples, may be beneficial in learning how to translate sentences into algebraic equations was examined from the perspective of cognitive load theory. In two experiments it was shown that Grade 8 and 9 students were initially disadvantaged by the inclusion of a…

Originality is a necessary part of creativity, but creative things are more than just original. They also solve a problem, or more generally are somehow fitting or appropriate. Yet previous research found an inverse relationship between ratings of originality and ratings of appropriateness. The present investigation employed a different…

The aim of the present study was to explore the hypothesized relationship between divergent thinking (DT) and two types of evaluation: interpersonal (judgments about others' ideas) and intrapersonal (judgments about one's own ideas). Divergent thinking and evaluation skills were measured by means of a GenEva (Generation and Evaluation) task. There…

This article argues that the merger of simulations and problem-based learning (PBL) can enhance both active-learning strategies. Simulations benefit by using a PBL framework to promote student-directed learning and problem-solving skills to explain a simulated dilemma with multiple solutions. PBL benefits because simulations structure the…

In this paper, I use principles of civic education and social psychology to identify four main classroom contributors to students' pessimistic appraisals of their ability to improve social problems: authoritarian teaching methods, a culture of "doom and gloom," little attention to solutions to social problems, and no linkage of social problems to…