The book "Productive Thinking", by Gestalt psychologist Max Wertheimer, was published over 50 years ago, yet it continues to wield influence. The book's argument on productive thinking, and why it is still relevant today, are the focus of this paper. Productive thinking involves going from a situation of bewilderment or confusion about some issue…

Describes an attempt to promote both mathematical and nonmathematical problem solving. Suggests that the goals for the average mathematics course need revision, in practice, or additional courses introduced, which will develop thinking ability as a primary objective. (EB)

The author describes a course in which undergraduate political science majors are taught to read international relations literature critically. Seven specific objectives in judging the literature are included. (DE)

The paper's purpose is to clarify and develop some theoretical and practical implications of the concept of critical thinking, and the field of social studies is used as one example of the problem. The work of four leading critical theorists (Robert Ennis, Harvey Siegel, Michael Scriven, and R. S. Peters) is described and a distinction is made…

Part 4 of a series on Art Education for the Disadvantaged Child. Paper presented at annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association (Chicago, February 1965), and also appears in "Studies in Deprivation, July 1968.

During the 1979-80 school year, the Talents Unlimited (TU) program (validated by the Joint Dissemination Review Panel) for talented students in grades 1 through 6 was evaluated by nine adopting school systems. Five talent areas were addressed: communication, forecasting, decision making, productive thinking, and planning. Data were analyzed for…

A UNIT ON EFFECTIVE THINKING, WITH THE EXPERIMENTAL FOCUS ON INFLUENTIAL THINKING, WAS PREPARED AND TESTED. A TEXT, "EFFECTIVE THINKING," WAS PREPARED. AN INEXPERIENCED TEACHER USED THE TEXT IN A NINE WEEK COURSE WITH SEVENTH GRADE STUDENTS. ONLY A POST-TEST CONTROL GROUP DESIGN WAS USED. THE TWO FACTORS STUDIED WERE TREATMENT AND SEX.…

When the context of instructional discourse maximizes the likelihood of interaction with preexisting knowledge structures, productive learning outcomes may be increased. In the present study, 44 undergraduate students who read a hierarchically structured text were asked to recall its contents immediately and again six weeks later. The generation…

Heuristic models help writers recall information, sometimes revealing unique combinations of information in ways not conceived previously. This makes heuristics a valuable technique for helping beginning writers generate writing ideas. Observing that all culture is communication, Edward Hall has organized Primary Message Systems (PMS), a framework…

Different groups of college students wrote one solution or many solutions to problems, like the plot-title problem, of verbal, numerical, and pictorial material. Instructions to write many solutions yielded solutions of lower mean quality, but more superior solutions. Information about criteria for good solutions raised quality. Large quantity was…

This study investigates one way humans cope with change--problem-solving. It concentrates on the human abilities important to efficient problem-solving and the processes involved in problem-solving. The objectives of this study were: (1) to develop three group administration tasks that measure problem-solving processes; (2) to evaluate the…

Six experiments were conducted to determine whether idea checklists increased idea quantity and quality. College students were allowed 10 or 20 minutes or unlimited time to find ideas for product improvement problems. Results indicated that the only checklist which significantly stimulated productivity was composed of just seven general categories…

Decisionmaking in organizations is examined from the perspective of open systems organization theory. Employing this perspective, this paper represents a critique of the views held by planners and systems analysts and the conflicting assumptions of their critics. The conclusion reached is that neither the assumptions held by planners, nor those of…

Demonstrates how philosophical thinking can be stimulated by reading folk tales, myths, and legends. Explains how to emphasize the stories' hopefulness and optimism and to de-emphasize violence and morals. (Author/AV)