The Effects of the Presentation of a Structure of the Problem-Solving Process Upon Problem-Solving Ability in Seventh Grade Mathematics.

Analyzed was the increase in problem-solving ability when students were exposed to, and participated in, various aspects of a problem-solving process. Also analyzed was the nature of the relationship between problem-solving ability, as measured by the author's instrument, and the intelligence quotient, creativity index, and sex of seventh grade mathematics students. The sample for this study consisted of students in ten seventh grade mathematics classes from the Indiana University Junior High School. Students from the high and low IQ experimental groups were matched respectively with students from the high and low IQ control groups on the basis of their problem solving ability. The analysis of data appeared to justify the following conclusions: (1) special study of a structure of the problem-solving process did not enhance the problem-solving ability of seventh grade students, (2) intelligence was a significant factor in the determination of problem solving ability, (3) special instruction in a structure of the problem-solving process did not appear to significantly improve the problem-solving ability of students regardless of their level of IQ, (4) creativity was not a significant factor in the determination of problem-solving ability. (RP)