This study addressed predictors of the development of word problem solving (WPS) across the intermediate grades. At beginning of 3rd grade, 4 cohorts of students (N = 261) were measured on computation, language, nonverbal reasoning skills, and attentive behavior and were assessed 4 times from beginning of 3rd through end of 5th grade on 2 measures…

A battery of problem solving and divergent thinking tasks was administered to 91 fifth graders to identify a factor that could be labeled problem solving and be distinct from divergent thinking. In several factor analyses, three factors consistently emerged: fluency, problem solving, and academic achievement. (Author/RD)

Comparison of performance in 3 practical problem-solving tasks by eighth graders in Singapore (170 boys, 107 girls matched for aptitude, attitude, and prior knowledge) indicated that girls distinctly preferred content familiarity and outperformed boys in several processes/skills when familiar with content. (SK)

The differences in responses of grade 6 boys and girls to selected items on a standardized test are examined. Data are the responses of approximately 36,000 children during 1978-79 to two test forms of the California Assessment Program's Survey of Basic Skills: Grade 6 (SBS:6). Performance on specific arithmetic items is studied and involves the…

Hypotheses from self-efficacy theory in the area of children's arithmetic achievement were tested. It was hypothesized that compared with didactic instruction, cognitive modeling would result in higher arithmetic achievement, self-efficacy, and accuracy of self-appraisal. (Author/GK)

The present study was designed to identify parent-child interaction patterns that might differentiate bright from below average elementary students in order to test the hypothesis that environmental processes related to regulation of executive processes influence both children's learning and developmental level. Thirty-two mother-child dyads (16…

Investigates how different types of achievement goals influence elementary school students' help seeking. Goals were conceptualized on two dimensions: locus of the goal (i.e., personal goals and contextual goals) and emphasis of the goal (i.e., learning goals and performance goals). Interactions among goals and their resultant patterns of help…

The performance-based assessment was developed to assess students' higher order thinking skills in real-life problem-solving situations in Alberta, Canada. These tasks assess aspects of science that cannot be measured easily by regular paper and pencil tests. The purpose of this document is to provide teachers, administrators, students, and…

Examined capacity to generate solutions to cope with stressful events and strategies used to cope with interpersonal and academic stressors among 130 middle school students. Found subjects consistent in generation and use of problem- and emotion-focused coping. Problem-focused alternatives generated and used were negatively related and…

The Helping Hands Project (HHP) is a program that aims at improving achievement in reading comprehension and in math problem-solving by helping the classroom teacher sustain instructional intensity. Implemented in grades four and six in two Newark School District elementary schools, HHP involved five teachers and 117 students. Ninety-two percent…

Evaluation of a schoolwide enrichment and resource room enrichment program on problem solving/problem finding for gifted children in grades 3-5 found that the gifted students involved made significantly greater gains than did average ability students receiving the special treatment and significantly greater gains than did gifted students receiving…

At a middle school in suburban Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, administrators and teachers used the cognitive domain of the National Association of Secondary School Principals' Learning Style Profile to design "products" that helped compensate for underachieving sixth and seventh graders' skill deficits in mathematics and science. Success…

This book is designed to help teachers maximize their students' learning of Logo. It investigates what students learn when they learn Logo, and how teachers know what they are learning. The book is intended primarily for teachers at the upper elementary and middle school levels. Each chapter is devoted to a critical aspect of Logo learning, and…

The reading and mathematics objectives of the Georgia Criterion-Referenced Tests for Grade 4 are described. In reading, objectives are defined for: (1) literal comprehension, the understanding of information explicitly stated in the materials; (2) inferential comprehension, the understanding of information not literally expressed; and (3) problem…

This volume includes the tests, questionnaires, letters, manuals, findings, and analyses associated with the field evaluation of "ThinkAbout," a series of 60 15-minute programs organized in 13 clusters and designed to strengthen the reasoning skills of fifth and sixth graders, and to review and reinforce language arts, mathematics, and…