I'm doing a talk at the 2025 OAGC Fall Conference — "Use Metacognitive Thinking Strategies to improve Learning and Problem Solving" (a 50-word summary), Monday 1:00-1:50 — and this page will help you learn more about it.
What will happen during the talk? As described in my Whova-bio (copied at end of page), "I'll quickly explain why we should expect many gifted students to be excited about using metacognition (generally) and (specifically) to be fascinated with my model for Problem Solving (by ‘making things better ’) that's an extension of my PhD work," and we'll discuss questions about the POV' s of students & teachers. Hopefully it will be like a seminar in 2022 (for OSU Engineering Education) when, as I later told friends by email, “I was lively and logical, they added valuable insights, we had fun.”
about me: The Whova-bio isn't really a bio, instead it's about my talk. But several authentic bios are available, at the end of this page (short) and in the HomePage (even shorter) and longer HomePage (with a little more detail about my PhD work); and there is a full bio-page about my life on a road less traveled with a detailed personal history that explains how my different responses to hearing “we historians” (no but...) and thinking “we educators” ( Yes ! ) helped me become an enthusiastic educator, and describes my mixed feelings about the uncommon road.
contact info: You can use "craigru57-att-yahoo-daut-caum" to email me before-during-after the conference. I want to talk with people while we're there, so if you also want this we can exchange phone numbers for “where are you” texts.
the importance of iou's:
In this page (and other pages in the website) you'll find iou's, because I owe you an explanation that's more accurate-and-thorough and I'm working on it, will do it later. These iou's are important because they're prevalent in many sections, although not all. They're much more numerous now than in March 2025, because during the last 7 months I've been getting ideas at a fast rate, but writing at a slower rate. Between now and Sunday (October ) I'll be writing a lot, and everything will improve, especially in the slides I'm making for Whova. In this page, maybe all iou's will be fulfilled the morning of October 9. In other pages — mainly in my two favorites, the Discovery Page & HomePage — things will continue getting better because I'll continue designing ways to communicate the ideas more clearly. By noon October 10, in other pages the most important iou's will be “more ready for the conference” because during that weekend many people will be examining sessions and making decisions about which ones they want to attend.
IDEAS and QUESTIONS
The paragraphs below (for ideas in 1-2-3-4-5, and questions in A-B) are about pages in my website, and here are some useful...
tips for viewing: Before the conference, you probably will want to view this pair of pages (on left & right sides) with a computer monitor so the text is large enough to read comfortably. The two-page format is useful because in this page the internal links (to pages within the website) open in the left-frame, so you still can see this page in the right-frame. AFAIK, your browser's Back-Button should always return you to “where you were” earlier ; but “in case it doesn't” each main other-page (HomePage & Discovery Page) has an end-of-page link for "OAGC Page" that will open this pair of left-and-right pages; or you can proactively make “spare pairs” now. But external links (to pages outside the website) open in a new tab. / If you're viewing on a small-screen tablet or phone, a top-of-page link will "open only this page" and if you click any link it will open in a new tab.
Below is a plan for time-efficient learning of ideas that will help you pre-understand my talk and pre-think the questions. But you're busy, so a “partial plan” is to focus on ⊡ 2 and ⊡ 3 plus ⊡ A and ⊡ B. And soon (maybe tonight, October 7) another time-efficient option will be available when “the slides for my talk” are posted in this website and on Whova.
⊡ 1 – Begin with the HomePage but read only its first paragraph. {and maybe the bio-paragraph} Also look at the Table of Contents in a “details” page (just to see the wide range of topics) but don't click any links. Then use the Back-Button to reload the HomePage and do...
⊡ 2 – The best way to understand my model for Design Process (i.e. for Problem-Solving Process) is to learn by discovery when you study its diagrams, by observing (and thinking about) the words & colors and spatial relationships. You can begin by studying the right-side diagram. Then for deeper understandings, in a Discovery Page read the Page-Introduction (in a “White Box”) and a second White Box that has questions & comments about the three main diagrams. / Then continue downward for a wider range-of-discovering in "the flexibility of Design Process," illustrated by "three common Action-Sequences" that show how we do Quality Checks & Reality Checks (to ask the Design Question & Science Question) and use Guided Generation; and how people develop-and-use metacognitive mental roadmaps. / But skip the gray box (with "three common Action Sequences – Part 2") until later.
tips for viewing: Before you do ⊡ 3, here is an option to consider IF you like to frequently click links: the Discovery Page is designed to be on the right-side because its links open on the left-side, so you'll have a better link-clicking experience if you open it on the right side.
⊡ 3 – scroll downward and read the third White Box that describes two important characteristics of Design Process — it has Two Wide Scopes (for Problem-Solving Activities & Problem-Solving Process) — and explains how these wide scopes help make Design Process more educationally useful, when it's used by itself and with other models. / also: • combining Design Process with other models-for-process, to make the combination more effective than either model by itself, • how using broad definitions (for problem & problem solving, and for education, experiment, science, theory, model), • how Design Process can help students develop-and-use metacognitive Self-Regulated Learning.
But before moving on to ⊡ 4, first I'll describe the...
three kinds of information in my website:
Model Information describes my model for Design Process, as in ⊡ 2. Education Information describes general Educational Principles & Educational Goals that you already know and probably accept, so while reading you will be thinking “yes”. But often I also explain how using Design Process can help us achieve our Educational Goals, and for these claims (they're Education-with-Model Information, as in ⊡ 3, ⊡ 4, ⊡ 5) you might think “yes!” or “yes and...” (yes plus adding your own ideas) or “yes but...” (with questions) or “maybe” or “no because...” (with reasons to revise or reject), and all of these responses can be useful when we're discussing possibilities for improving education, and...
"I'm hoping you will see our “common ground” [regarding general Education Info] so you will be thinking “Craig understands education, wants what we want, is similar to us.” And also “he is a little different, with an innovative model [learned with Model Info] — that describes (verbally & visually) human problem-solving actions, to help students understand these actions and improve their own actions — and [based on Education-with-Model Info] this model could contribute useful ‘added value’ for us, so working with him will help us improve our education.” I'm hoping you will want to discuss possibilities, and that – by working with colleagues (who might include me, or maybe not) – you will be able to co-create better education by actualizing strategies for effectively using metacognition, with or without using my model.
⊡ 4 – Back in the HomePage a large fourth White Box contains related sections that explain – with more depth than in ⊡ 3 – how "the two wide scopes of Design Process increase two Transfers of Learning [Across Areas & Through Time] and help make education Personally Useful" plus our "Logical Evidence-Based Reasons to Expect Transfers" and how we can help students build bridges so they expect school-into-life transfers that produce direct benefits (with better results in their learning & performing) and indirect benefits (with better attitudes in their motivations & confidences)" so a student wants to proactively pursue their own Personal Education, and wisely Design Their Life. We also can motivate students with metaphors (to “drive your brain” & increase its performance, and “be CEO of your thinking”) and promote their adventures with thinking (when they explore web-resources & do activities) that can include Design Process (by studying its logic-and-art, and using it to improve their problem-solving abilities).
Between ⊡ 4 and ⊡ 5, you may enjoy the light-yellow sections that describe Growth Mindset (this won't be new for you) and (with familiar ideas expressed in a new way) having a Performance Objective and/or Learning Objective.
⊡ 5 – a fifth White Box describes metacognition (the what, why, how) and the metacognitive Thinking Strategies that are highly effective for improving student performance-and-learning in academic areas (including standardized exams) and for social-emotional aspects of life. Two effective ways to use metacognition are self-questioning and (better) Cycles of Self-Regulated Learning, and (best) using both. Design Process can help students develop-and-use SRL, and teaching SRL-with-DP offers three benefits that make it easier-and-better; one benefit is that using DP is “SRL Plus” because DP can help students improve their metacognitive self-regulating skills (with SRL) AND their cognitive problem-solving skills (with DP), and this is a very productive combination.
My Whova-bio has two related POV-Questions, about the POV s of students and teachers:
⊡ A – Do you think students will be excited-and-fascinated? My claim — that "we should expect gifted students to be excited about using metacognition (generally) and (specifically) to be fascinated with the logic-and-art in my model for problem solving" — is supported by what is known about the motivations of gifted students so it's plausible, but is not proven due to a current lack of observations; hopefully this soon will change. Teachers can motivate all students with strategies like those in ⊡ 4 , by building bridges from school into life, using metaphors of brain-driving & CEO-ing, promoting adventures with thinking. And gifted students tend to be naturally self-motivated, being very interested in thinking and wanting to improve their cognitive-and-metacognitive thinking skills.
⊡ B – How do you think teachers [and administrators] will respond to the possibilities I'm describing? This question is complex in many ways; it's examined in a large set of sections asking "What kind of Knowledge-and-Skills Curriculum will produce optimal Whole-Person Education?" that includes the benefits of starting with gifted students. (⊡ A and ⊡ B are mostly Education Info but also have some Education-with-Model Info) / iou – I'll say a little more about this later, maybe October 9th or 10th.
This is the program-summary (in 50 words) for my talk:
Use Metacognitive Thinking Strategies to improve Learning and Problem Solving
Give students educationally useful experiences, and use metacognitive thinking strategies (self-questioning, reflection, SRL, my problem-solving model,...) to help them learn more from their experiences, improve their knowledge and skills. Use the wide scope of "problem solving" to build motivational transfer-bridges (from school into life) throughout the curriculum.
I'm an enthusiastic educator with a PhD in C&I from U of Wisconsin, who wants to find co-enthusiasts.
In my talk, I'll explain...
what my verbal-and-visual model for Design Process (i.e. for Problem-Solving Process) IS and ISN'T; it will help you recognize The Design Question & The Science Question;
how its two wide scopes (for PS-Activities & PS-Process) help students "build bridges" from school into life, so they will be motivated to proactively pursue their own Personal Education;
why we should expect gifted students to be excited about using metacognition (generally) and (specifically) to be fascinated with the logic-and-art in my model for problem solving (for "making things better") that's an extension of my PhD work about Scientific Methods;
why researchers have concluded that metacognition is extremely useful for improving learning-and-performing.
During the explaining and after it, we'll discuss two POV-Questions: Do you think students will be excited-and-fascinated? How do you think teachers will respond to the educational possibilities?
The talk is described more fully in an "OAGC Page" [it's this pair of pages] at (EducationForProblemSolving.net/oagc) that will help you pre-understand ideas and pre-think questions. It links to a bio-page about "my life on a road less traveled" that explains how my responses to hearing "we historians" {no but...} and thinking "we educators" {Yes and...} increased my enthusiasm for learning and teaching.
and an "actual bio" written for my seminar (in 2022) with OSU Engineering Education:
I'm an enthusiastic educator who enjoys discussing ideas with other educators. Improving our education — by designing better ways to teach & learn, so we can improve our thinking and doing — is one of the most important things we can do. And it's fun!
I've continued studying education after earning a PhD in C&I from U of Wisconsin, following degrees in Chemistry (BS, MS) and History of Science (MA) from U of CA-Irvine, U of WA, and U of WI. My PhD project was developing a model for Scientific Method and using it to analyze science instruction for Opportunities to Learn; later it was generalized into a process-model for Problem Solving (for Science-Design plus General Design that includes Engineering) and I've developed a comprehensive website – about Education for Problem Solving – to explore ways of using my model (and other models) to help students improve their problem-solving abilities in all areas of life.
One motivation for moving from Madison to Columbus, in May 2022, was my goal of networking with other educators and doing cooperative collaborations to improve our education, so I'm hoping to working with other educators to co-create better education.