The use of reflective leadership among school principals is examined in this paper to develop a framework for the process of reflective decision making, with a focus on administrators'"strategic sense." Field notes and interviews with principals and their teachers were used to identify leadership roles and principals' perceptions of those roles.…

This book shows how to use evaluation to find effective solutions. The first two chapters introduce evaluation as an administrative function at the school level. Chapter 1 draws on two kinds of literature--educational-administration literature (to survey administrative practices) and educational-evaluation literature (evaluation practiced by…

This article reports a study of decision-making processes for selecting instructional materials. The project had two aims: (1) to survey research findings and practices of decision-making processes in instructional material selection in the United States and Australia; and (2) to identify the attributes of decision-making processes used to select…

This paper provides a brief overview of some of the current thought on teaching problem-solving and decision-making skills and presents selected exercises that have been used successfully in a graduate course in problem-solving and decision-making strategies. In addition to learning theories that are presented in order to help learners understand…

Describes an attempt to develop appropriate career skills through the design of a balanced cross modular assignment program and individual cross modular assignments. Explores difficulties associated with development and assessment of such skills. (Author/CH)

Eight guidelines are suggested for incorporating a contemporary issues curriculum into special education programs so that students with disabilities have the knowledge and skills to make responsible, informed life choices. Examples of possible contemporary issues are listed, and a table lists different methods of addressing contemporary issues.…

Previous research has cast doubt on children's ability to use specified evidence when making causal inferences, or, indeed, to differentiate between the specified evidence and their own preconceptions, or "prior theories." The present study continues previous work by distinguishing between children's reasoning in conditions where…

Evaluators of argument are frequently confronted by conflicting claims. While these claims are usually based on probabilities, they are often resolved with the accepted claim treated as though it were "true," while the rejected claim is treated as though it were "false." Scenario testing is the label applied to a set of…

The complex nature of the psychological construct called judgment, the history of its identification as a mental ability, its measurement, and its relationship to other mental abilities are discussed. Factor analytic research which isolated the judgment factor is reviewed. The pervasiveness of the judgment factor throughout a number of diverse…

A study was conducted to examine the evaluative criteria or schemata that voters use in making decisions about competing candidates. More specifically, the study sought to determine (1) whether the criteria that voters employ differ between the candidates, and (2) the relative importance of various candidate-specific criteria in the voting…

This article proposes that the behavior of teachers conducting small-scale evaluations of their own programs is analogous to the behavior of students solving curriculum-specific problems in classrooms and that teaching methods for training students in problem-solving skills can be usefully adapted to training teachers in evaluation skills.…

Judgment is the process of making decisions with incomplete information concerning either the outcomes or the decision factors. Sound judgment that leads to good decisions is an essential skill needed by adventure education and outdoor leadership professionals. Cognitive psychology provides several theories and insights concerning the accuracy of…

Describes a study investigating the effects of instruction in probability theory on student abilities to estimate probability and solve common problems. Reports no effects. Indicates that certain psychological approaches for solving probability are common in diverse groups and are resistant to change even under formal instruction. (MAB)

In this study, the cognitive characteristics of students' decision-making processes centered on phases, difficulties, and strategies are analysed in the personal dailylife context involving biological knowledge. The subjects were first year science and general high school students in Seoul, Korea; 6 female students and 7 male students. The…

An analysis of informal reasoning and examination of teaching practices looks at ways to improve reasoning skills in college students. Teaching students to reason more effectively is an important but difficult goal of higher education. Reasoning consists of complex skills which must be taught. Effective instruction is based on two key features:…