Exam 15: Transfer, Problem Solving, and Critical Thinking

The primary advantage of using an algorithm (rather than a heuristic) is that it:

Three of the teachers below are using techniques that should facilitate students' problem-solving abilities. Which one is not doing so?

Nine-year-old Aleesa wants her father to play a video game with her, but Dad tells her, "Sorry, honey, I don't have time. There are dirty dishes in the kitchen sink, and the living room has to be dusted and vacuumed. I need to clean the house before Grandma and Grandpa come tonight. Aleesa thinks for a moment and then says, "How about if I wash the dishes and do the dusting? That way, you'll have some time to play with me." Aleesa's approach to solving her problem-convincing Dad to play a video game-most clearly reflects:

Which one of the following best describes a classroom that has a culture of transfer?

Martha is trying to decide what to give to her best friend Rose as a birthday present. She begins by looking closely at how Rose spends her time. She also browses in a number of different department stores to identify numerous things within her price range. Then she lets the problem "incubate" in her head for a few days while she engages in other activities. Eventually she chooses what she thinks will be the best gift for Rose. Martha's approach to the problem can probably best be understood from which of the following perspectives of problem solving?

Three of the following teaching strategies should promote critical thinking. Which strategy, although beneficial in other ways, will not necessarily promote critical thinking skills?

Leo has recently studied the principle of reinforcement in his psychology class. He is now trying to teach his daughter good table manners. From an information processing perspective of transfer, is Leo likely to use the principle of reinforcement in helping his daughter learn manners?

Critical thinking can best be described as involving:

In English, the word llama is pronounced "LA-MA." In Spanish, the same word is pronounced "YA-MA" (the double-L is pronounced similarly to a "Y" sound). Analyzing this situation in terms of the similarity of stimuli and responses, we can predict that a person who first learns to read the word in English and then learns to read it in Spanish will:

Research indicates that people are more likely to be successful problem solvers in a given subject area when they:

Describe three different strategies you might use to encourage students or clients to engage in critical thinking about a topic. Illustrate each strategy with a concrete example.

Sarah needs to solve this word problem: A sweater in a store is originally priced at $40, but the price tag is marked "One-half off." The sweater is placed on a rack marked "Five dollars off the sale price." How much does the sweater cost now? Sarah knows how to find one-half of a number; she also knows how to subtract one number from another. She uses both of these operations to arrive at the correct answer of $15. Which one of the following best describes Sarah's approach to problem solving?

When Daneesha encounters the problem "If apples are 35¢ each, how much will 7 apples cost?" she thinks, "Many items at the same price . . . hmm, this kind of situation usually calls for multiplication." Daneesha's reasoning reflects the use of:

Sheila is a physicist who has been successfully solving physics problems for years. Tamara is a beginning physics student. Which one of the following differences between Sheila and Tamara are we most likely to see in terms of how they approach physics problems?

Which one of the following problems is most likely to be solved with a heuristic rather than an algorithm?

Choose a particular content domain (e.g., math, science, history, English literature) and give two examples that critical thinking in that domain might entail. Your examples should reflect two of the following forms of critical thinking:

Which one of the following most clearly illustrates vertical (as opposed to lateral) transfer?

Only one of the following students is definitely engaging in critical thinking. Which one?

Peny is trying to solve the following riddle: "What creature walks first on four legs, then two, then three?" He repeatedly tries to think of an animal that might walk on three legs, but he can only think of animals that walk on either two or four legs. Finally, he is told the correct answer: a human being, who crawls, then walks, then walks with a cane. Which one of the following is the most likely explanation of Perry's difficulty?

Which one of the following examples most clearly illustrates how mental set can interfere with problem solving?