Methods used to investigate problems in the sciences include building-up strategies, insight, and change (or serendipitous discovery). Discusses appropriate learning experiences for the undergraduate science students so they are more likely to benefit from the second method of scientific discovery as they make a career in their chosen field. (JN)

Studies time intervals in a list of critical ideas in physics. Infers that the rate of growth of ideas has been proportional to the totality of known ideas multiplied by the totality of people in the world. Indicates that the rate of discovery in physics has been decreasing. (CW)

Adapting strategies of invention from the new process-oriented rhetoric, the literature teacher can help students understand what they read through prereading exercises. Presenting students with an abstract model of a text's metaphoric structure, the teacher can spark students' immediate and imaginative response to the model, involving them…

Describes experiences in planning and conducting a workshop that combined the teaching of writing, research, and basic photography skills. (EL)

Contends that introducing elementary students to history concepts is difficult because they have few reference points for comprehending change over time. Discusses the use of buttons for an inquiry-based activity designed to heighten student interest and learning. (CFR)

Notes need for outdoor education programs for gifted students. Describes a 1981 survey of such programs provided by New York's Board of Cooperative Educational Services and outdoor education centers. Renzulli's Enrichment Triad Model and Parents' Creative Problem Solving Process are suggested as models to teach gifted students through outdoor…

Describes the teacher's guide made up of 125 student activities encompassing 1 year of high school physics instruction called Physics Resources and Instructional Strategies for Motivating Students (PRISMS). The learning cycle of each activity includes three phases: exploration, concept introduction, and concept application. Provides exploration…

Research on how students in a university composition class generate and use ideas not only yielded data on the process of invention, but also altered the structure of the course and the teacher-researcher's attitudes toward teaching writing. To facilitate the study of invention, researchers instituted several changes in the course format. They…

Describes a self-managed learning approach designed to help engineering students take charge of their own learning. Discusses marker events, exploratory learning versus linear instruction, knowledge through self-discovery, information retrieval, production through writing and speaking, and promoting a mature response. (TW)

Describes the basic principles of the Personal Discovery Approach to motivating students (individuation, tasks, journey, imagery, dreams) and program modules (survival strategies, autobiographical work, "Express Yourself,""Experimental Listening," value clarification, "Group Time,""Human…

N:4$2 N:4$N Reported are results of a Technical Education Research Centers (TERC) project describing telecommunication interactions between groups of students using the computer software unit "Connectany." Polygons are formed through repetitive "jumps" between points on a circle. Investigation questions and results are shared…

Previous research has shown a relationship between formal reasoning ability and science process skill attainment. It has been hypothesized that an increased emphasis on teaching process skills might enhance the formal thinking abilities of students. A variety of strategies have been proposed to better accomplish this task, most notable, the…

Describes how college science laboratory activities can be developed by student teams in which original questions are formulated as testable hypotheses and refined into experimental designs on the basis of personal observations. Distinguishes this "minds-on" approach from traditional college science laboratories with respect to students'…

Teaching cases have been utilized in professional training and can offer dramatic accounts of problems teachers may confront in the classroom. This case study examines a fact-based story of a third-grade teacher's confrontation with the mother of an African-American child who disagrees with the innovative approach utilized in her child's…