Provides guidance and some guidelines for those trying to gain support for classroom innovations. Includes a chart of some influencing strategies and research-based accounts of some methods that can be employed to garner support. (DDR)

Examines a report, The Assessment of Performance in Design and Technology, that attempts to assess problem-solving abilities in the field of design. Describes pilot projects, an extended project, and some test projects. Summarizes a research project on identifying when and where design appears in the school curriculum and discusses developing…

Reviews the book "Medical Problem Solving: An Analysis of Clinical Reasoning," a seminal book whose conclusions on problem solving in medical fields are still valid today. Discusses major problem-solving findings of this book, the application of the findings to education, and relating knowledge to problem-solving skills. (JRH)

Reviews two publications coauthored by David N. Perkins. "Teaching Thinking: Issues and Approaches" deals with developing a framework for nurturing forms of thinking that foster learning, understanding, and critical and creative thought. "Are Cognitive Skills Context-Bound?" traces the 30-year evolution of this topic. (JRH)

Presents: (1) a list of ideas for teaching problem-solving; (2) a review of a problem-solving book used in medical education; and (3) a discussion of an approach called problem-based learning. (DH)

Reviews several sources of published materials which contain learning objectives for general problem solving as well as problem solving in mathematics, science, and computer science. Lists of objectives are included where appropriate. (JN)

Discusses activities involved in a six-hour workshop program on creativity. Also describes: (1) sources of background information on creativity; (2) ways to evaluate skills in creativity; (3) articles and ideas on creativity and problem-solving, including predictors of problem-solving success; and (4) how to find time to teach problem-solving. (JN)

Describes various resources for teaching problem-solving. They include: (1) several books with a problem-solving emphasis; (2) a workshop focusing on the attitudinal components of thinking and problem-solving; and (3) a summary of a study dealing with problem-solving in the context of high school physics. (JN)

Suggests criteria to be used in selecting problem-solving activities and criteria to be considered in choosing media, exercises, and problems for the development of problem-solving skills. Provides perspectives on developing creativity and includes a chart on how thinking and attitude components relate. Also lists related reference materials. (ML)

Provides a listing of recently published books on problem solving and life skills. Reviews articles and ideas related to the teaching of problem solving. Discusses the instructional implications of research in cognitive psychology. (ML)

Describes the nature and use of a "strategy", an organized approach that breaks down the overall mental task of problem-solving into stages, providing details of the McMaster Six-Step Strategy. Also provides instructions for working through a Whimby pair series of problems and the Schoenfeld management approach. (JN)

Describes Noel Entwhistle's book "Styles of Learning and Teaching," detailing how it can be used to help students learn and store knowledge. Also describes a course on the theory and practice of cognitive processes taught at Carnegie Mellon University. (DH)

Reviews a monograph which addresses children's higher-order thinking skills. Suggests the following for teaching problem solving: identify and develop content-independent and content-dependent problem-solving skills, connect developed skills through workshop-style activities to subject discipline, and help students identify and reconstruct their…

Considers research concentrating on the correlation between knowledge structure and learning. Suggests implications of this research to classroom teaching. Cites characteristics of unsuccessful and successful problem solvers. (RT)

Explains the differences between successful and unsuccessful problem solvers' exploration of a problem, translation of information into different forms, approach to devising and executing a plan, and rechecking work. (RT)