This article describes the Future Problem Solving Program, a year-long curriculum project with competitive and non-competitive options. The international program involves 250,000 students and is designed to help students enlarge, enrich, and make more accurate their images of the future. Team problem solving and individual problem solving…

Presents the results of a study comparing student reactions to and perceptions of learning in introductory public relations courses using a traditional lecture format and a Socratic approach. Finds significant differences in the two groups showing that students who received the Socratic instruction reported more opportunities in practicing their…

The ecological issues of pollution, overpopulation, and conservation can be explained in the classroom through the use of creative play, problem solving, and discovery methods among groups of young children. Activities for teaching the topics of air, water, land, and noise pollution; overpopulation; and conservation are suggested. (DG)

Briefly describes ERIC documents and journal articles that pertain to teaching in elementary and middle school. Teaching methods and characteristics of successful teachers are described. (DG)

Described is an activity in which groups of students investigate engineering principles by writing a feasibility study to raise the luxury liner, Titanic. The problem statement and directions, and suggestions for problem solutions are included. (CW)

Two aspects of instructional practice in mathematics are discussed: the process of developing instructional activities and the importance of engaging students in mathematical discussion. The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) Standards are evaluated based on this discussion. (CW)

This study of 10 aggressive and 9 nonaggressive preschool boys found that both groups attempted the same repertoire of social goals and used the same social strategies, but with varying relative frequencies. Aggressive children sought to stop or prevent action more often and used intrusive strategies more often than nonaggressive children.…

To help counselors assess the morality of counseling decisions, a matrix of influencing is presented that generates morally significant questions for counseling. Alternative answers are considered for each question, and examples are used to clarify moral implications of counseling decisions. (Author/TE)

Two approaches for teaching a student how to define a problem, acquire pertinent data, generate possible solutions, and optimize them for the patient are described: guided design, originating in engineering education; and problem-based learning, which has roots in medical education. (Author/MLW)

Eighty-nine children between four and nine years of age solved mazes varying in the presumed appropriateness of advance or improvisational planning. Results of the study show that children's planning strategies are adapted to circumstances and suggest that older children may be more proficient in this adaptation than are younger children. (RH)

This special section on cognition and mathematics contains an introduction and 13 articles on advances in the psychology of mathematics learning. The articles focus on how students learn to solve mathematics problems, including arithmetic computation problems, arithmetic word problems, and computer programing problems. (SLD)

Reviews a debate among Roman rhetoricians over declamation, an early case study method. Appraises contemporary concerns about the value of case study as a stimulant to problem-solving skills, its ability to imitate realistic circumstances of business and technical writing, and its emphasis on persona and audience along with its deemphasis of the…

The paper examines the nature of creativity and educational changes which have placed greater emphasis on creative problem solving and creative expression. Specific focus is on: (1) production of curriculum and instructional programs to facilitate creative thinking, and (2) development of procedures for measuring creative thinking abilities. (JDD)

Two individuals with severe mental retardation, participants in a supported employment program, were taught to use self-instruction in combination with multiple exemplar training to solve work-related problems. Use of the combined strategy resulted in generalization of self-instruction statements and correct responses to untrained problem…

Two approaches to teaching work-site social behaviors to three youths with mental retardation were examined. Problem-solving training, which involved developing skills in decoding, decision, performance, and evaluation, led to substantial generalization and maintenance of social behaviors in natural work settings. Training based upon role-playing…