The impact of individual characteristics on the attitudes and performance of students in a college psychology course using the guided design approach was examined. With this teaching method students work in groups to solve problems, gaining experience in the cognitive processes of concept reorganization, symbolic translation, data interpretation,…

This paper explores the fault-tree analysis approach to isolating failure modes within a system. Fault tree investigates potentially undesirable events and then looks for failures in sequence that would lead to their occurring. Relationships among these events are symbolized by AND or OR logic gates, AND used when single events must coexist to…

Even though several national testing firms have developed measures to evaluate the effectiveness of baccalaureate education, there continues to be a general reluctance on the part of faculty in colleges and universities to accept these measures as criteria on which to evaluate educational programs. Some of the resistance appears to lie in the lack…

The conditions that intensify conflict avoidance by the central administration in making strategic decisions, and the consequences of such avoidance for the management of college affairs, are discussed. The implication of an emerging decision-making style for adapting the organization to changing environments is also considered. Some of the…

Expert reasoning in the natural sciences appears to make extensive use of a relatively small number of general principles and reasoning strategies, each associated with a larger number of more specific inference patterns. Using a dual declarative hierarchy to represent strategic and factual knowledge, a framework for a robust scientific reasoning…

The purpose of this study was to extend previous research by observing how two types of teachers, novice and experienced, find and solve problems in a classroom setting and how problem finding behavior differs between them. The results indicate that experienced teachers (N=10) and student teachers (N=10) appear to use the same cognitive strategies…

The mathematical experiences of elementary students often focus on memorizing facts and rules as opposed to making sense of the subject and developing problem solving skills. Students spend large amounts of time processing, memorizing and sorting collections of data which are tasks well performed by computer technology. To correct this situation,…

The study examined procedures utilized in 28 elementary schools in Montgomery County (Maryland) when a student is found to have academic or behavioral problems that make functioning in the regular classroom difficult. The study examined one part of special education--how the school system initially identifies students for special services. The…

Progress in mathematics was evaluated for Mississippi, using data from all 154 school districts in the state. Focus was on determining the demographic context for mathematics achievement in Mississippi. Data from the 1986-87 District Profile Sheets compiled by the State Department of Education were analyzed. The Basic Skills Assessment Program…

This study investigated social problem solving (SPS) and cognitive style (field dependence-independence) in 70 counselor trainees who were also elementary or secondary school teachers. Specifically, the study attempted to analyze and describe the SPS responses of counselor trainees; to examine whether SPS elements, styles, and processes varied…

This paper identifies two intellectual traditions that dominate professional education, one concentrating on content coverage and one concentrating on the profession's problem-solving processes. It then examines several fields of professional education, some of which have exclusively adopted one or the other of these traditions and some of which…

In early 1983, a questionnaire was sent to members of the Public Relations Division of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication to determine whether they perceived the role of public relations practitioners to be one of four types: expert prescriber, communication technician, communication facilitator, or problem solving…

This paper describes a plan to improve school effectiveness in the Tulsa (Oklahoma) Public Schools by incorporating instruction in thinking skills. The program selected by the school district was the Strategic Reasoning Program, based on Albert Upton's Design for Thinking and J. P. Guilford's Structure of the Intellect. The Strategic Reasoning…

This paper explores the thesis that advances in computer applications and artificial intelligence have important implications for the study of development and learning in psychology. Current approaches to the use of computers as devices for problem solving, reasoning, and thinking--i.e., expert systems and intelligent tutoring systems--are…

This publication contains seven papers by the staff of the University of Exeter School of Education and by invited outside contributors. The focus is on the changing mathematics curriculum, instructional practices, and research findings. The papers are: (1) "Mathematics Education for the 21st Century: It's Time for a Revolution!" (David…