Research from social psychology on the effects of group discussion and of exposure to the opinions of other group members on the decisions groups make is reviewed. The pertinence of this research to standard-setting practices is considered, and the implications for the design of standard-setting procedures are explored. (SLD)

Presents a problem-solving model for outdoor group leaders. Describes assessment, analytical and creative phases of the model, and emphasizes the importance of experience-based judgment. Discusses ways of providing experiential problem-solving opportunities in outdoor leadership preparation programs. (SV)

Highly variable bisection performance in neglect patients has been attributed to an increased "zone of indifference" (Marshall & Halligan, 1989). The indifference zone indicates the discrepancy between two line lengths which are judged as equal in length. Following this argumentation, the central area of a line should be expanded in neglect…

In this article, the author discusses the issues concerning selection of educational policy that leans towards educational efficiency or educational equity. The author examines whether it would be necessary to choose between the two and compares the advantages and disadvantages of these policy orientations. The author believes that equity is part…

Staff developers who have worked intensively with teachers to promote higher order thinking tend to emphasize similar types of training activities, especially involving teachers in higher order thinking and authentic problem solving in their subjects and translating ideas about the teaching of thinking into specific lessons for students.…

This research project studied the relationship between teachers' thinking and action, specifically, teachers' implicit theories in the subfield of evaluation. Particular focus was upon the way teachers generate their theories about teaching, the structure and content of such theories, and their influence on decisions and intructional practices.…

How teachers evaluate the various instructional methods at their disposal is the question addressed in this paper. The issue is examined in an effort to determine which of certain models of teaching some teachers prefer, how teachers categorize models of teaching, and which factors are associated with their preferences. Results suggest that role…

Reports the results of two experiments that examined the relative effects of questions requiring decisions, statements providing the decision information to the students, questions not requiring decisions, and control procedures on student's memory for chemistry text reading materials. Discusses results in terms of an elaboration perspective on…

The following categories of research on choice behavior of individuals with severe developmental disabilities are reviewed: assessing their choice making, building choice opportunities in daily contexts, and evaluating the effects of choice making. Research suggests that most people with severe developmental disabilities are capable of making…

Reports on a study of people's decision making with respect to quality and authority on the World Wide Web. Seven facets of judgment of information quality were identified: source, content, format, presentation, currency, accuracy, and speed of loading. Institutional and individual authority was identified as an underlying theme in source…

Failure to separate judicial reasoning (the application of rules) from legislative reasoning (the justification of rules) in earlier studies is claimed to invalidate most previous developmental research using moral dilemma interviews. Two studies used a novel method of scoring moral dilemma interviews that separates judicial from legislative…

Similarity plays a central role in cognitive theories. Research has demonstrated that the similarity of a pair increases with its commonalities and decreases with its differences. These common and distinctive elements can take the form of parts of objects, relations between parts of properties of whole objects. Previous work has been unable to…

This exploratory study examined the college search processes of 25 non-traditional adult students at two central New York State community colleges. Using a modified time-line interview, a method developed in communication and information sciences, the researchers found that the college student's choice process was significantly different for the…

Many aspects of teaching reveal it to be an activity imbued with uncertainty. Teachers are frequently unsure of their students' knowledge and understanding, of the effects of their instructional strategies, of the most appropriate content to cover in their limited time with students, and ultimately of their own intellectual and social authority.…