Reports the development of a multidimensional instrument of stable coping styles that focuses on whether one's problem-focused coping efforts were facilitating or inhibiting progress toward problem resolution. Describes steps of scale construction, provides initial estimates of stability of factor structure and construct, concurrent, and…

Describes the development of a computer case-study template for integrating basic science concepts with clinical problem-solving processes in medical education; multimedia and interactive resources of Macintosh HyperCard software were used. Discusses design considerations and how the format works for the author and the student. (AEF)

Presents mathematics activities that give students in grades three through six practice in writing and problem solving by using the setting of a zoo or animal park. Includes reproducible student worksheets. (MKR)

Presents an assessment activity to determine the ability of students to devise a plan for solving a problem and recording their work while solving the problem. Uses the theme of planning and organizing a birthday party. (MKR)

Interviews with in-service elementary teachers (n=32) who were asked to solve multiplicative problems showed that teachers who solved problems relationally reasoned in terms of ratio and proportion concepts, whereas teachers who arrived at correct solutions without the concepts did so using a trial-and-error method. (24 references) (Author/MKR)

Presents performance assessments, written by a team of Wisconsin science teachers, designed to see if students know, have practiced, and are able to perform the skills associated with science problem solving. (JRH)

Discusses a program in New Zealand to assist high school students who have an aptitude for mathematics. Uses the philosophy of extension and enrichment rather than acceleration and has a teaching emphasis of problem solving and the methodology of the research mathematician. (MKR)

Pretest and posttest experimental (n=18) and control group (n=7) study assessing the effectiveness of a commercially available social skills training program for improving social skills and reducing family conflict in parent-adolescent dyads. Training group manifested improved social skills. Results partially confirm effectiveness of social skills…

An enrichment program developed for sixth-grade gifted students combined creative problem solving with future studies in a way that would simulate real life crisis problem solving. The program involved forecasting problems of the future requiring evacuation of Earth, assuming roles on a spaceship, and simulating crises as the spaceship traveled to…

In separate articles, two educators present their arguments for and against the proposition that empirically based practice, the integration of practice methods with research methods, should be taught in social work practice courses. Each also responds to the other's essay. (MSE)

Eight elementary special education teachers attending a graduate course described 48 critical incidents that highlighted the advantages or disadvantages of their rural Kentucky areas in the delivery of special education services. Incidents were categorized and served as the basis for discussion of solutions to local problems in service delivery.…

Pretests measuring critical thinking ability and mental alertness were administered to 72 first-year college students at the beginning of an introductory computer programing course. Posttests administered at the end of the semester showed significant improvement in both areas, indicating that instruction in programing improves students' critical…

Correlated teens' strategies for regulating their attachment to their mothers as measured by the Adult Attachment Interview, and emotion regulation during teen-mother problem solving. Teens with secure strategies engaged in problem-solving discussions characterized by less dysfunctional anger and less avoidance of problem solving than other teens.…

Factors that contribute to teen misbehavior include those in self, home, school, and community. The Calgary School System has successfully integrated troubled teens into the regular public school classroom by developing mutual respect; pinpointing problems; making mutual agreements about which problems to solve; sharing responsibility for change;…

Describes two library-lab exercises the authors have incorporated into their college chemistry course. The first exercise introduces students to scientific information and familiarizes them with the tools for accessing it. The second provides a framework for evaluating the reliability of that information and addresses the criteria that should be…