Content effects in problem categorization and problem solving.

In many domains, the content of a problem (i.e., its surface cover story) provides useful clues as to the type of problem it is and to its solution. Five experiments examined this role of problem content on the problem solution and categorization of algebra word problems with experienced participants. In the first experiment, when problem content was atypical for the the problem's deep structure, people were worse at solving the problem. Differences were also detected in the problem solution where the problem's content was highly correlated with its deep structure versus problems where content was neutral to their deep structure. In the other experiments, problem categorization and determination of information relevance depended on how closely the problem's content matched its deep structure. These results suggest that content may be influential even for experienced problem solvers. The discussion examines the implications for problem schema access and application. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The problem with problem solving

PURPOSE: We conducted a prospective study of patients with primary pterygia to analyze surgically-induced astigmatic changes following pterygium surgery and their relation to pterygium morphology and size. METHODS: One hundred twenty-three eyes of 123 adult patients with primary pterygia were evaluated. Pterygium was graded according to morphology and the extent of corneal encroachment. Manifest refraction was performed preoperatively and at 1, 3, and 6 months postoperatively. Patients underwent either the bare sclera technique of pterygium excision or conjunctival grafting. Surgery was performed by one surgeon. Olsen's method of vector decomposition was used to analyze surgically-induced astigmatism. RESULTS: The mean magnitude of preoperative astigmatism was 0.99 D, with vector decomposition revealing a relative flattening of the cornea in the horizontal meridian. Astigmatism of 1.00 D or more was seen when the pterygium exceeded 3.5 mm beyond the limbus. Postoperatively, a steepening of the cornea in the horizontal meridian was demonstrated, the magnitude of which was related to pterygium size (P = 0.0001). ANOVA testing showed no significant difference (P > 0.05) when pterygia were divided according to morphology. CONCLUSIONS: This study confirms that pterygium excision induces a reversal of pterygium-related corneal flattening. A strong correlation was also found between the horizontal extent of pterygium encroachment and astigmatic change following surgery.     

Group and individual effects in problem solving.

Hypothesized that when working on a single problem, the combination of individual and group sessions would lead to more solutions than only individual or only group sessions. Dividing 128 Ss into 32 real and nominal work groups, the hypothesis was not confirmed. Instead, the individual production of ideas was found to be superior to either group production or the combination of group and individual production (p     

Agency-wide implementation of problem solving consultation: Foundations, current implementation, and future directions.

Describes steps taken and the support needed for large scale implementation of a consultative service delivery model. The foundation of a problem solving consultation model used at Heartland Area Educational Agency 11 (HAEA-11) in Iowa is presented. Case examples are used to illustrate various components within problem solving consultation. Efforts to evaluate perceptions of problem solving consultation, and to guide further implementation of consultation at the systems level, are summarized. Areas in which additional resources would enhance problem solving consultation are discussed. Shifts in the philosophy of service delivery that are fundamental for successful implementation of problem solving consultation are described. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Implicit learning in problem solving: The role of working memory capacity.

Participants solving the Balls and Boxes puzzle for the first time were slowed in proportion to the level of working memory (WM) reduction resulting from a concurrent secondary task. On a second and still challenging solution of the same puzzle, performance was greatly improved, and the same WM load did not impair problem-solving efficiency. Thus, the effect of WM capacity reduction was selective for the first solution of the puzzle, indicating that learning to solve the puzzle, a vital part of the first solution, is slowed by the secondary WM-loading task. Retrospective verbal reports, tests of specific puzzle knowledge, and a recognition test of potential strategies all indicated that participants were unaware of their knowledge of the puzzle, suggesting that it had been learned implicitly. Concurrent protocols collected from participants supported this conclusion and further suggested that participants were not aware of learning to solve the puzzle as this learning occurred. These results provide evidence that implicit learning depends on WM capacity and that implicit memory can play an important role in problem solving. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The nature and processes of preverbal learning: implications from nine-month-old infants' discrimination problem solving

Nine-month-old infants' performance on discrimination-learning problems was investigated in four experiments using the synchronous reinforcement paradigm. These experiments were organized around basic theoretical postulates concerning the relation between attention and learning. In each of the experiments, infants were trained to respond differentially to a particular stimulus feature, with the goal of establishing whether they could learn to respond to a particular stimulus feature under conditions where other stimulus dimensions were present and varying. In the first experiment, 48 infants were trained to fixate visually on a particular feature in a pair of stimuli that varied in color, form, and position dimensions. Contingencies for responding were then shifted either within a dimension (reversal shift) or across dimensions (nonreversal shift). Infants learned to respond to the reinforced feature during initial training; moreover, infants assigned to a reversal shift condition showed a higher level of transfer of learning during the test phase than those assigned to a nonreversal shift condition. The second experiment extended the results of Experiment 1 by testing 48 additional infants under conditions in which the number of varying irrelevant dimensions was increased during the shift phase. Although the difficulty added to this task by this manipulation made transfer more difficult for all infants, results again indicated that transfer of learning was more evident for infants in a reversal shift than a nonreversal shift condition. In the third experiment, 64 infants were trained in a similar manner, except that completely new values were substituted during shift phases on the color and form dimensions. This manipulation was meant to probe whether infants were formulating a dimension response from previous training and to test the predictions of such dimension processing for transfer of learning to a functionally new problem. Infants were reinforced for fixating on a new feature either within the same dimension as during training (intradimension shift) or within the dimension that was not originally trained (extradimension shift). Transfer of learning was clearly superior in the intradimension shift condition. The findings of the first three experiments suggested that, during discrimination-learning problems, infants selected and tested individual stimulus features and dimensions from an array of potential solutions to the problem until discovering the one that was consistently associated with reinforcement.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)     

Enhancing third-grade student' mathematical problem solving with self-regulated learning strategies.

The authors assessed the contribution of self-regulated learning strategies (SRL), when combined with problem-solving transfer instruction (L. S. Fuchs et al., 2003), on 3rd-graders' mathematical problem solving. SRL incorporated goal setting and self-evaluation. Problem-solving transfer instruction taught problem-solution methods, the meaning of transfer, and 4 superficial-problem features that change a problem without altering its type or solution; it also prompted metacognitive awareness to transfer. The authors contrasted the effectiveness of transfer plus SRL to the transfer treatment alone and to teacher-designed instruction. Twenty-four 3rd-grade teachers, with 395 students, were assigned randomly to conditions. Treatments were conducted for 16 weeks. Students were pre- and posttested on problem-solving tests and responded to a posttreatment questionnaire tapping self-regulation processes. SRL positively affected performance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The effects of training Negroes upon cooperative problem solving in biracial teams.

Previous research had indicated that in spite of purposeful structuring to the contrary, Negroes consistently defer to the opinions of whites. The present study investigates the possibility of inducing greater assertiveness and autonomy on the part of Negroes when working with whites. Ss performed a task involving cognitive judgments (items from Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices and other nonverbal tests), first individually, then in groups of 2, paired according to race. Some Ss were given a pretrial condition structured to enhance their level of confidence in their own judgment. Judgmental accuracy and influence on the group decision improved in both races with pretrial conditioning; without it Negroes showed the characteristic deference to the opinion of the white partner, and were less accurate. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Teaching with concrete and abstract visual representations: Effects on students' problem solving, problem representations, and learning perceptions.

In 3 experiments, we examined the effects of using concrete and/or abstract visual problem representations during instruction on students' problem-solving practice, near transfer, problem representations, and learning perceptions. In Experiments 1 and 2, novice students learned about electrical circuit analysis with an instructional program that included worked-out and practice problems represented with abstract (Group A), concrete (Group C), or abstract and concrete diagrams (Group AC), whereby the cover stories were abstract in Group A and concrete in Groups C and AC. Experiment 3 added a 4th condition (C-A) with a concrete cover story and abstract diagrams. Group AC outperformed Groups A and C on problem-solving practice in Experiments 1 and 2 and outperformed Group C on transfer across the 3 experiments; Group AC also outperformed Group C-A in Experiment 3. Further, Group A outperformed Group C on transfer in Experiments 2 and 3 and outperformed Group C-A in Experiment 3. Transfer scores were positively associated with the quality of the diagrams and the number of abstract representations drawn during the transfer test. Data on students' learning perceptions suggest that the advantage of Group AC relies on the combined cognitive support of both representations. Our studies indicate that problem solving is fostered when learners experience concrete visual representations that connect to their prior knowledge and are enabled to use abstract visual representations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

The role of problem definitions in understanding age and context effects on strategies for solving everyday problems.

The participants (107 preadolescents, 124 college students, 118 middle-aged adults, and 131 older adults) described 2 everyday problems (1 unconstrained, the other constrained to 1 of 6 domains) that they experienced and their goals and strategies. Problem definitions reflected interpersonal or competence components or both; strategies reflected altering cognitions, actions, or regulating and including others. Age differences in problem definitions were found. For unconstrained-domain problems, age and problem definition were related to strategies; for unconstrained-domain problems age differences in strategies were not found. For constrained-domain problems, strategies related to problem domain and problem definition, with problem definition the better predictor of strategies. The results illustrate the value of individuals' problem definitions for addressing age and context effects on strategies used. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The impact of trust on creative problem solving groups.

Examined the dynamics of interpersonal trust in group creative problem solving. Each member of 29 4-person groups of undergraduate females was led via manipulated feedback from 3 other group members to perceive a high trust, low trust, or control (no trust) manipulation condition. Two instructional sets were used: a standard brainstorming technique and synectics. Performance was measured by the number of ideas each group generated. Self-report data were taken on perceived effort, satisfaction, and group attractiveness. The high trust and control groups outperformed those in the low trust conditions on each of 3 tasks. Also, it appears that when information about trust is lacking in the group, members assume that relatively high trust exists. No differential impact due to problem-solving instructions was found. (21 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Problem solving and learning.

A. Newell and H. A. Simon (1972) provided a framework for understanding problem solving that can provide the needed bridge between learning and performance. Their analysis of means–ends problem solving can be viewed as a general characterization of the structure of human cognition. However, this framework needs to be elaborated with a strength concept to account for variability in problem solving behavior and improvement in problem-solving skill with practice. The ACT* theory (J. R. Anderson, 1983) is such an elaborated theory that can account for many of the results about the acquisition of problem-solving skills. Its central concept is the production rule, which plays an analogous role to the stimulus–response bond in earlier learning theories. The theory has provided a basis for constructing intelligent computer-based tutoring systems for the instruction of academic problem-solving skills. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Conformity and problem solving.

Tests of problem solving, conformity, and intelligence were given to 77 women and 64 men introductory psychology students to investigate the possibility that conformity, a nonintellectual variable, contributes to the variability in achievement in problem solving. The results show a negative correlation between tendency to conform and achievement in problem solving when the influence of intelligence is statistically removed. 17 references. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Improving classroom learning by collaboratively observing human tutoring videos while problem solving.

Collaboratively observing tutoring is a promising method for observational learning (also referred to as vicarious learning). This method was tested in the Pittsburgh Science of Learning Center’s Physics LearnLab, where students were introduced to physics topics by observing videos while problem solving in Andes, a physics tutoring system. Students were randomly assigned to three groups: (a) pairs collaboratively observing videos of an expert human tutoring session, (b) pairs observing videos of expert problem solving, or (c) individuals observing expert problem solving. Immediate learning measures did not display group differences; however, long-term retention and transfer measures showed consistent differences favoring collaboratively observing tutoring. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The New York University conference on human problem solving.

"A conference of about 40 psychologists to explore the present status of research in the field of human problem solving was held at New York University… " in April 1954. "The program consisted of general papers and discussions in the mornings and brief reports of current research in the afternoons." Areas of agreement and disagreement and points of view of the conference discussants are cited. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Fact-retrieval automatization and math problem solving by learning disabled, attention-disordered, and normal adolescents.

Learning disabled, attention-disordered, and normal adolescents were assessed with 2 performance measures and 3 behavioral measures, recorded while the Ss worked on math problems. Differences were found between the combined experimental and comparison groups in retrieval speed for each operation, but not in accuracy. Off-task attention contributed to the slower speeds of Ss only during multiplication. Rapid fact retrieval was the only significant predictor of the number of correct answers to word problems. Because of the statistical and procedural controls used (IQ, reading skill, and initial math ability), experimental vs control group differences in problem solving were demonstrated only for specific types of word problems. Overall, these findings support theoretical predictions that attention-disordered and learning disabled children have difficulty with repetitive stimuli, which contributes to basic- and advanced-level math deficits. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cognitive technology: Some procedures for facilitating learning and problem solving in mathematics and science.

An argument is detailed for modifications to some traditional procedures of mathematics and science instruction. It is suggested that cognitive research findings, in revealing the essential domain specificity of problem-solving skills, have pointed to negative aspects of some traditional emphases. As a major example, conventional problem solving frequently can interfere with the acquisition of knowledge. Alternatives to problem solving such as studying worked examples can be equally ineffective unless they are designed in accordance with current findings. It is concluded that if material is structured with learning rather than goal attainment in mind, problem-solving skills can be enhanced substantially. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of solving related proofs on memory and transfer in geometry problem solving.

Three experiments investigate the relationship between memory and problem solving in the domain of geometry theorem proving. In Exp 1, Ss' memories for an original problem-solving episode were interfered with retroactively by solving a 2nd problem that had the same diagram, but no memory effects were observed that depended on the 2nd problem's logical similarity to the original. Results suggest that the diagram is the basis for geometry problem-solving memories. Exps 2 and 3 investigated problem-solving memories in use by examining Ss' transfer to a 3rd (test) problem. As with the memory results, transfer was reduced when the 1st 2 problems had the same diagram relative to when they had 2 different diagrams. Transfer was reduced most in the condition with the greatest proportion of memory-interfering steps. Results suggest that the structure and quality of problem-solving memories affect problem-solving transfer. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Dynamic assessment of algebraic learning in predicting third graders' development of mathematical problem solving.

Dynamic assessment (DA) involves helping students learn a task and indexing responsiveness to that instruction as a measure of learning potential. The purpose of this study was to explore the utility of a DA of algebraic learning in predicting third graders' development of mathematics problem solving. In the fall, 122 third-grade students were assessed on language, nonverbal reasoning, attentive behavior, calculations, word-problem skill, and DA. On the basis of random assignment, students received 16 weeks of validated instruction on word problems or received 16 weeks of conventional instruction on word problems. Then, students were assessed on word-problem measures proximal and distal to instruction. Structural equation measurement models showed that DA measured a distinct dimension of pretreatment ability and that proximal and distal word-problem measures were needed to account for outcome. Structural equation modeling showed that instruction (conventional vs. validated) and pretreatment calculation skills were sufficient to account for math word-problem outcome proximal to instruction; by contrast, language, pretreatment word-problem skill, and DA were needed to forecast learning on word-problem outcomes more distal to instruction. Findings are discussed in terms of responsiveness-to-intervention models for preventing and identifying learning disabilities. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)