Focuses on the effects of the application of two problem-solving techniques--metacognitive and heuristic--on the achievement of students in the computation of creative mathematics problems. Results indicate that there was a significant difference in the achievement of experimental and control groups. Contains 24 references. (Author/ASK)

Analyzes the notion of structuring resources and their role in shaping mathematical activity. Examines ways in which nurses conceptualize ratio and proportion problems and provides a case study of two nurses discussing conflicting strategies when monitoring the fluid balance of a patient. Draws out some implications for the design of viable…

Reports on an intensive study of problem-solving activity of female students at the senior secondary level. Focuses on both the mathematical processing and the underlying cognitive and metacognitive activities that led to that processing. Concludes that all successful groups displayed a high number of key points where metacognitive decisions could…

Explains the importance of student self-assessment skills and how, by sharpening these skills, students and teachers can see excellent results both in and out of the classroom. Self-assessment is explained as the central part of the evaluation section of the Big6 information problem-solving process. (LRW)

A committee of media specialists, librarians, teachers, parents, and administrators at a Minnesota district devised an information literacy curriculum. They identified current skills and software; learned an information-processing mode; identified curriculum integration areas; brainstormed projects; identified needed resources; and developed…

Presents a review of 54 studies on math practices for students with learning disabilities. Validated practices included strategy and self-regulation interventions. Students benefited from step-by-step processes that guided their thinking and performance when solving math problems. The use of manipulative devices and drawings also were effective.…

Thirty-two high school students were categorized by creativity style (adaptor or innovator) and completed two musical composition problems involving two different degrees of problem-finding behaviors: an open, and a closed, problem. No significant differences due to problem type, creativity style, or the interaction of the two factors was found.…

Describes an adventure activity in which a group achieved a seemingly impossible goal by changing the way it imagined the task. Discusses the sequence of steps in metaphor development that led to the triggering of a generative metaphor: a new image of the task that allowed reframing of the problem and its eventual solution. (SV)

The hypothesis that family rigidity has an indirect effect on adolescent suicidal ideation through its effect on adolescent problem-solving deficits was evaluated among college students and their parents. Structural equation models confirmed the hypothesis. Directions for treatment efforts are discussed. (Author/EMK)

Introduces a technique for developing tasks suitable for group investigation where students work from sets of numerical examples toward making generalizations. (ASK)

Discusses the role of chemical-equation problem solving in helping students predict reaction products. Methods for helping students learn this process must be taught to students and future teachers by using pedagogical skills within the content of chemistry. Emphasizes that solving chemical reactions should involve creative cognition where…

Suggests using issue-centered approaches in elementary social studies instruction and discusses one example, the Reconstructive Model by Frank Simon. Argues that by using this model, teachers can develop their own issue-centered lessons and units about history. Provides an example of a sixth-grade lesson on disabled students developed using this…

Examines a moderately sized Washington school district's efforts to move beyond strategic planning as a segregated activity toward thinking strategically about long-term plans to govern both tactical operations and the district's future. Top management grew to recognize the legitimacy of multiple external and internal constituent claims. (25…

Explores the utility of mental models as learning outcomes in using complex and situated learning environments. Describes two studies: one aimed at eliciting mental models in the heads of novice refrigeration technicians, and the other an ethnographic study eliciting knowledge and models within the community of experienced refrigeration…

Focuses on synthesis in research--the combination of thesis and antithesis in the dialectical process, producing a new and higher form of being. Discusses kinds of synthesis (unique communication, plan of operation, abstract relations); synthesizing information pieces; summary practice leading to synthesis; and questions of analysis and synthesis.…