Presents a scenario using an animal word problem and illustrates how kindergarten classrooms can become rich environments to develop students' mathematical power. Presents student solutions. (MKR)

Investigated individual differences in (n=100) 10th-grade students' forms of visual thinking and related intuitions in the context of mathematical problem solving. Results suggest that success at problem solving was related to logical operational ability but not to vividness of visual imagery. (29 references) (Author/SYB)

Reports on a study of faculty perceptions of critical thinking instruction in 6 disciplines in 39 higher education institutions. Finds that graduate programs in economics teach a different form of problem solving. Recommends that critical thinking skills be given priority in academic programs. (CFR)

Examines the roles of instrumentality, expressivity, satisfaction with social support, and size of social network in predicting problem solving in 215 predominantly white undergraduates. Implications for the study of problem-solving skills and adaptive activities are discussed. (SLD)

Describes the conflict resolution program, Resolving Conflict Creatively (RCCP), that was founded for violence-torn schools in New York City. RCCP encourages open discussion in a supportive atmosphere through curriculum support, professional training of parents and teachers, and student-led mediation. (JPS)

Proposes a new conceptual framework, embedded in a dynamic model, that accounts for children's failure to reason transitively. Examines five different models of transitive reasoning. Develops a model of how children initially represent and then use the ordered information available in the transitive inference model and how these processes change…

Describes problems associated with assessment and evaluation of problem-solving intervention in inner-city high school. Delineates factors related to assessment concerns. Offers recommendations for training including increased frequency and intensity of sessions, diversifying procedures, encouraging cultural sensitivity in trainers, and working…

For the past four years, a multiage class in Maine has been involved in a pumpkin-growing and -marketing enterprise--a project involving real work and problem solving. Begun with a seed grant, the project raises money for field trips and nonessential teaching materials. Working cooperatively forges strong bonds among children, teachers, and…

As urbanization increases, the potential for conflict between urban and agricultural interests grows. A case study of a conflict between farming and nonfarming interests provides students an opportunity to consider and discuss varying perceptions about pesticide use by farmers while evaluating data concerning pesticides. (LZ)

Describes a model that can be used to supplement systematic training approaches to behavioral skills. Presents four phases used to teach counselor trainees cognitive skills and self-instructional strategies related to attending and seeking information, forming hypotheses and conceptual models, and intervention planning and self-instruction. (RJM)

Examines the importance of cooperative learning in early childhood, which promotes social and academic benefits and can build supportive and more inclusive classroom communities. Suggests seven key ideas to differentiate cooperative groups from traditional groups, including interdependence, goals, grouping, and leadership, with examples from…

Provides details of a science teacher inservice model centered around the methodology of problem solving and ownership of outcomes associated with an issue or problem. Describes perceptions of the program by staff and participants. (Author/MKR)

Test-taking strategies that examinees may use without reading the passages on which reading comprehension questions are based, similar to those of the new Scholastic Assessment Test, were studied with 350 high school juniors. Strategies most often used involved choosing answers based on consistency and reconstructing main themes from other…

Evaluation of 95 students in grades 3 and 6 on measures of mathematics anxiety, test anxiety, and attitudes toward mathematics found that test and problem-solving anxiety took 2 distinct forms. Mathematics test anxiety increased with age relative to problem-solving anxiety. (SLD)

This second article of a two-part series describes how success counseling techniques can be used to handle discipline problems by helping campers to accept personal responsibility and develop effective problem-solving skills. Instead of using punishment, success counseling techniques enable campers to recognize what they want, identify appropriate…