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Results for “PROBLEM SOLVING”

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PubMed1986

Using structured medical information to improve students' problem-solving performance.

In the study reported here, the authors assessed the use of efficient organization of knowledge and of problem-solving strategies to enhance medical students' clinical problem-solving skills. Thirty-five preclinical medical students were randomly assigned to a experimental or control group and given a knowledge base containing information on eight congenital heart diseases to learn. Information for the experimental group emphasized disease groupings (based on their similar clinical presentation), symptom-disease associations, and clinical problem-solving heuristics. The same information for the control group was presented in a textbook format that emphasized the pathophysiology of the diseases. The students then diagnosed three computerized diagnostic problems of varying difficulty while verbalizing their problem-solving strategies. The results showed that the experimental group acquired a higher ratio of diagnostic to nondiagnostic cues, mentioned the correct diagnosis sooner in their workups, and correctly diagnosed the most difficult case more often than the control group. These results provide support for revisions in the organization and presentation of information that are aimed at improving clinical problem-solving skills.

Clinical Competence↗

PubMed2003

Problem-solving concepts and theories.

Many educators, especially those involved in professional curricula, are interested in problem solving and in how to support students' development into successful problem solvers. The following article serves as an overview of educational research on problem solving. Several concepts are defined and the transition from one theory to another is discussed. Educational theories describing problem solving in the context of behavioral, cognitive, and information-processing pedagogy are discussed. The final section of the article describes prior findings regarding expert-novice differences in problem solving of various kinds.

Animals↗

PubMed1995

Problem solving in schizophrenia: a specific deficit in planning ability.

The study investigated problem solving ability in schizophrenia. Thirty DSM-IIIR schizophrenic patients and 27 matched normal controls were tested on the Three-Dimensional Computerised Tower of London Test (3-D CTL Test) (Morris et al., 1993). The patients took significantly more moves to solve a series of problems and solved significantly fewer problems in the predetermined minimum number of moves. The patients response times, as measured using a control version of the task (the 3-D CTL Control), were longer than those of the controls. However, when latencies were adjusted to take into account the slower responses overall, the patients planning times were not significantly increased. Inaccurate planning, as defined by taking more moves, did not correlate with either positive or negative symptoms, but the response times tended to be longer in patients who had more negative symptoms. The findings suggest that there is a deficit in problem solving activity in schizophrenia that may be associated with translating 'willed intentions' into action, independent of slower motor speed.

Adult↗

PubMed2004

[The effects of PBL (Problem-Based Learning) on the metacognition, critical thinking, and problem solving process of nursing students].

PURPOSE: This investigation examined the effect of PBL on the meta-cognition, critical thinking, and problem solving process. METHOD: The research design was pre-posttest with a nonequivalent control group design. Scenarios for PBL sessions were developed on the basis of textbooks and patients' charts and tested for content validity. Seventy six nursing students who took a 'Nursing Process' course from two nursing schools participated in the experimental group and control group. The experimental group performed PBL during the semester. Meta-cognition and problem solving processes were assessed by questionnaires which were developed using pedagogics. Critical thinking was measured by the CCTST (California Critical Thinking Skill Test) Form 2000. The data was analyzed by repeated measure (pretest-posttest) MANOVA, and correlation analysis. RESULT: PBL improved the participants' meta-cognition and problem solving process but not critical thinking. The relationship between meta-cognition and the problem solving process was supported but the relationship between critical thinking and problem solving was not supported. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that PBL has a positive effect on nursing students' educational outcomes. To improve the problem solving ability of nursing students, PBL should be applied to more subjects in the nursing curriculum.

Adult↗

PubMed1996

Inferred hemispheric style and problem-solving performance.

To examine the relationship between an inferred hemispheric style and problem-solving performance, 78 undergraduate students were classified as having preference of Left-, Integrated-, or Right-hemispheric style by scores on Your Style of Learning and Thinking. The Tower of Hanoi was used as a measure of problem solving. Number of moves, total time, and number of illegal moves to solve the Tower of Hanoi task were the dependent measures of problem-solving performance. Analysis of variance showed significant differences among the three inferred hemispheric-style groups on two of the three measures of problem solving. Further comparison indicated that students who scored as showing Left-hemispheric style reported more moves and a longer mean time to solve the task than did students scoring as Right-hemispheric style. No differences were observed among the three groups on the number of illegal moves.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2005

An intelligent tutoring system for visual classification problem solving.

OBJECTIVE: This manuscript describes the development of a general intelligent tutoring system for teaching visual classification problem solving. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The approach is informed by cognitive theory, previous empirical work on expertise in diagnostic problem-solving, and our own prior work describing the development of expertise in pathology. The architecture incorporates aspects of cognitive tutoring system and knowledge-based system design within the framework of the unified problem-solving method description language component model. Based on the domain ontology, domain task ontology and case data, the abstract problem-solving methods of the expert model create a dynamic solution graph. Student interaction with the solution graph is filtered through an instructional layer, which is created by a second set of abstract problem-solving methods and pedagogic ontologies, in response to the current state of the student model. RESULTS: In this paper, we outline the empirically derived requirements and design principles, describe the knowledge representation and dynamic solution graph, detail the functioning of the instructional layer, and demonstrate two implemented interfaces to the system. CONCLUSION: Using the general visual classification tutor, we have created SlideTutor, a tutoring system for microscopic diagnosis of inflammatory diseases of skin.

Artificial Intelligence↗

PubMed1988

Sources of maternal confidence and uncertainty and perceptions of problem-solving competence.

Although a mother's perception of her competence in problem-solving issues of infant care may affect her sensitivity to her infant's cues, little is known about factors that contribute to this perception. This study explored the type of information on which maternal confidence is based and examined its relationship to perceived competence in problem-solving issues of infant care. The 49 mothers of healthy newborns who participated in this study were interviewed 30 and 90 days after the infant's birth to learn about sources of confidence or uncertainty. The interview protocol also included scaled items to assess perceived problem-solving competence. The infant's mood was most frequently reported as either a source of confidence or uncertainty at both 30 and 90 days. The infant's response to care as a source of confidence or uncertainty was positively related to perceived competence, suggesting that strengthening mothers' attention to this source of information about their performance may be clinically useful. Direct study of the type of information used to evaluate competence in problem-solving is recommended, since it may differ from the type of information on which mothers base their confidence in caring for their infants.

Adult↗

PubMed1993

Impact of social problem-solving training on aggressive boys: skill acquisition, behavior change, and generalization.

This study examined the impact of social problem-solving training on the behavior of five aggressive boys. Acquisition of problem-solving skills and changes in classroom behavior were evaluated using multiple-baseline designs within and across subjects. A generalization-programming procedure to promote the use of problem-solving skills in the natural environment was introduced across children in multiple-baseline fashion. Direct observation and behavior ratings were used to evaluate the treatment. Results indicated that each subject acquired the problem-solving skills at levels comparable to well-adjusted peers. Only one child showed behavioral improvement coincident with problem-solving skill acquisition. Three others showed moderate behavior change after the generalization-programming procedure was introduced. Only one child's gains on teacher ratings were maintained at the 6-month followup. The results suggest that cognitive-behavioral treatment of childrens' aggressive behavior may produce changes of limited magnitude and durability.

Aggression↗

PubMed1993

Attachment and emotion regulation during mother-teen problem solving: a control theory analysis.

We present a control theory analysis of adolescents' attachment strategies in the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI). In Study 1, Q-sort prototypes for secure/anxious and deactivating/hyperactivating strategies were used to differentiate between Main and Goldwyn's AAI classifications. In Study 2, we examined how AAI strategies were associated with emotion regulation during mother-teen problem solving. 4 aspects of mother-teen problem solving (dysfunctional anger, support/validation, avoidance of problem solving, and maternal dominance) were used to predict teens' AAI strategies. Teens with secure strategies engaged in problem-solving discussions characterized by less dysfunctional anger and less avoidance of problem solving. In addition, attachment security showed a curvilinear relation with maternal dominance, indicating that secure teens maintained balanced assertiveness with their mothers. Teens with deactivating strategies engaged in problem-solving interactions characterized by higher levels of maternal dominance and dysfunctional anger. The contribution of attachment strategies to teens' autonomy and to transformations in mother-teen relationships is discussed.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2002

Everyday problem solving in African Americans and European Americans with Alzheimer's disease: an exploratory study.

In this exploratory study, we compared the performance of 10 African American and 26 European American persons with early- to mid-stage Alzheimer's disease (AD) to 20 nondemented elderly (NE), using a shortened version of the Test of Problem Solving (TOPS). The TOPS measures verbal reasoning to solve everyday problems in five areas: explaining inferences, determining causes, answering negative why questions, determining solutions, and avoiding problems. Six linguistic measures were also examined: total utterances, abandoned utterances, length of utterances, maze words, questions, and total words. NE performed better than AD subjects on all but one measure of verbal reasoning ability. AD subjects also showed a trend to use more total utterances and abandoned utterances than NE. For the AD group, no ethnic differences were found for verbal reasoning or linguistic measures. The findings from this preliminary investigation suggest that, compared to European Americans, African American persons with AD demonstrate similar everyday problem solving and linguistic skills. Thus, assessments such as TOPS that examine everyday problem solving may be a useful nonbiased evaluation tool for persons with AD in these two ethnic groups.

Activities of Daily Living↗

PubMed1999

Deficient social problem-solving in boys with ODD/CD, with ADHD, and with both disorders.

OBJECTIVE: To study social problem-solving skills in psychiatrically defined aggressive boys, starting from Dodge's social information-processing model. METHOD: Videotaped stimuli of problematic social situations and questions were presented to elicit responses that indicate boys' social problem-solving skills (encoding and interpretation of social cues, generation of possible responses, evaluation of responses, self-efficacy evaluation, and response selection). Boys aged 7 to 12 years with oppositional defiant or conduct disorder (ODD/CD) (n = 48), attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) (n = 27), and both disorders (ODD/CD + ADHD) (n = 29) were involved as well as a normal control group (n = 37) and a psychiatric control group with internalizing disorders (n = 23). RESULTS: When compared with normal controls, boys with ADHD, with ODD/CD, and with ODD/CD + ADHD encoded fewer social cues and generated fewer responses. Boys with ODD/CD and with ODD/CD + ADHD moreover were more confident in their ability to enact an aggressive response than normal controls. When ODD/CD boys and ODD/CD + ADHD boys were given the opportunity to select a response from various types of responses shown, they selected an aggressive response more often than normal controls. Thus, in ADHD boys social problem-solving was affected only in encoding and in the generation of responses, whereas in ODD/CD and ODD/CD + ADHD boys social problem-solving was affected throughout the process. CONCLUSION: For the further study of social problem-solving in aggressive children, it is essential to differentiate between children with ADHD and children with ODD/CD and ODD/CD + ADHD.

Aggression↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Problem-solving in laparoscopic surgery.

The advent of the laparoscopic revolution and the wider applicability of laparoscopic procedures has caused surgeons to re-think the dynamics of intraoperative problem-solving. Problems of body habitus, previous surgery, exposure, bleeding, and anesthesia, as well as the problem cholangiogram, require new and innovative approaches, a practical approach to each of these common laparoscopic problems is presented.

Abdomen↗

PubMed2005

[Problem-solving approach in the training of healthcare professionals].

OBJECTIVE: To discuss the problem-solving approach in the training of healthcare professionals who would be able to act both in academic life and in educational practices in services and communities. METHODS: This is an analytical description of an experience of problem-based learning in specialization-level training that was developed within a university-level healthcare education institution. The analysis focuses on three perspectives: course design, student-centered learning and the teacher's role. RESULT: The problem-solving approach provided impetus to the learning experience for these postgraduate students. There was increased motivation, leadership development and teamworking. This was translated through their written work, seminars and portfolio preparation. The evaluation process for these experiences presupposes well-founded practices that express the views of the subjects involved: self-assessment and observer assessment. The impact of this methodology on teaching practices is that there is a need for greater knowledge of the educational theories behind the principles of significant learning, teachers as intermediaries and research as an educational axiom. CONCLUSIONS: The problem-solving approach is an innovative response to the challenges of training healthcare professionals. Its potential is recognized, while it is noted that educational innovations are characterized by causing ruptures in consolidated methods and by establishing different ways of responding to demands presented at specific moments. The critical problems were identified, while highlighting the risk of considering this approach to be a technical tool that is unconnected with the design of the teaching policy. Experiences and analyses based on the problem-solving assumptions need to be shared, thus enabling the production of knowledge that strengthens the transformation of educational practices within healthcare.

Education, Professional↗

PubMed1986

Problem-solving approach to clinical education.

A problem-solving method to provide appropriate clinical learning experiences was developed for physical therapy students enrolled in their first year of professional course work. Clinicians from selected facilities were asked to participate in a clinical rotation over a two-quarter period. Using a problem-solving format, each clinician was responsible for a two-hour presentation relating to a disease or disability. Each rotation was repeated weekly for seven different groups of 10 students. During the rotation, the clinician presented a patient with a particular disability or disease and worked with the students to identify patient problems, establish treatment goals, and discuss methods used to achieve the goals. The difficulties encountered with the clinical experiences and the positive aspects of the experiences are discussed.

Clinical Competence↗

PubMed1989

Social problem-solving therapy for unipolar depression: an initial dismantling investigation.

Tests the efficacy of social problem-solving therapy for unipolar depression and examines the relative contribution of training in the problem-orientation component of the overall model. This process involves various beliefs, assumptions, appraisals, and expectations concerning life's problems and one's problem-solving ability. It is conceptually distinct from the remaining four problem-solving components that are specific goal-directed tasks. A dismantling research design, involving 39 depressed Ss, provides findings that indicate problem-solving to be an effective cognitive-behavioral treatment approach for depression, thereby extending previous research. Moreover, the results underscore the importance of including problem-orientation training.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMed2002

The disturbing effect of irrelevant information on arithmetic problem solving in inattentive children.

Two studies explored the influence of irrelevant information on the problem-solving ability of children rated as inattentive by their teachers, on the basis of symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder as defined by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed.; American Psychiatric Association, 1994). In the first study, 20 inattentive children, fourth and fifth graders, and 20 control children matched for IQ, gender, and schooling were administered 12-word arithmetic problems. Four problems included only essential information necessary for the problem's solution, whereas the other problems included irrelevant information, half at the beginning of the problem and half at the end. Although the inattentive children were equal to control children in their ability to solve problems with essential information, they performed more poorly in using appropriate problem-solving procedures when problems included irrelevant information, independent of its position. The second study compared the influence of numerical and verbal irrelevant information. Nineteen inattentive children and 18 control children, selected with similar criteria as Study 1, were presented with 12 problems, 6 with irrelevant numerical-arithmetic information and 6 with irrelevant verbal information. Both kinds of information produced a greater number of procedural errors in the inattentive group, but differences in calculation errors were less evident. Furthermore, inattentive children were more disturbed when the irrelevant information was verbal than when it was numerical, suggesting that inattentive children's difficulties in problem solving are partially due to an inability to inhibit irrelevant information, especially when it conveys a rich semantic knowledge.

Analysis of Variance↗

PubMed2002

Problem-solving skills training for mothers of children with newly diagnosed cancer: a randomized trial.

Mothers of children with serious illnesses have lower levels of well-being than mothers in the general population. Problem-solving therapy (PST), a cognitive-behavioral intervention, has been shown to be effective in treating negative affectivity (depression, anxiety) and other manifestations of reduced well-being. This report describes a problem-solving skills training (PSST) intervention, based on problem-solving therapy, for mothers of newly diagnosed pediatric cancer patients. Ninety-two mothers were randomly assigned to receive PSST or to receive standard psychosocial care (Control Group). After the 8-week intervention, mothers in the PSST Group had significantly enhanced problem-solving skills and significantly decreased negative affectivity compared with controls. Analysis revealed that changes in self-reports of problem-solving behaviors accounted for 40% of the difference in mood scores between the two groups. Interestingly, PSST had the greatest impact on improving constructive problem solving, whereas improvement in mood was most influenced by decreases in dysfunctional problem solving. The implications of these findings for refinement of the PSST intervention and for extension to other groups of children with serious illnesses are discussed.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMed2003

A general architecture for intelligent tutoring of diagnostic classification problem solving.

We report on a general architecture for creating knowledge-based medical training systems to teach diagnostic classification problem solving. The approach is informed by our previous work describing the development of expertise in classification problem solving in Pathology. The architecture envelops the traditional Intelligent Tutoring System design within the Unified Problem-solving Method description Language (UPML) architecture, supporting component modularity and reuse. Based on the domain ontology, domain task ontology and case data, the abstract problem-solving methods of the expert model create a dynamic solution graph. Student interaction with the solution graph is filtered through an instructional layer, which is created by a second set of abstract problem-solving methods and pedagogic ontologies, in response to the current state of the student model. We outline the advantages and limitations of this general approach, and describe it's implementation in SlideTutor - a developing Intelligent Tutoring System in Dermatopathology.

Artificial Intelligence↗