This article introduces a center-based direct instruction lesson using picture-based situation cards paired with a problem-solving poster that teachers can implement within the classroom to proactively teach the skill of problem-solving to children between the ages of 3 and 5 years old.

Problem solving is one of the main competences we seek to teach students at school for use in their future lives. However, when dealing with mathematical problems, teachers encounter a wide variety of difficulties. To foster students' problem-solving skills, the authors developed "strategy keys." Strategy keys can serve as material to…

The Tower of Hanoi is an old, popular, and engaging puzzle. It is an exceptional puzzle too considering how effective it can be in engendering multiple valuable outcomes when used as a tool for learning. One of the fundamental goals of mathematics teacher preparation is to enable the prospective teacher to develop mathematical habits of mind and…

Representations that create informative visual displays are powerful tools for communicating mathematical concepts. The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics encourages the use of manipulatives (NCTM 2000). Manipulative materials are often used to present initial representations of basic numerical principles to young children, and it is…

"Who has been to Dairy Queen® and purchased a Blizzard?®" Ms. Bosetti asked her students. During the summer, Bosetti had seen many of her former and future students at the local Dairy Queen enjoying Blizzard desserts and wondered, "Which Blizzard size is the best value?" She used this context for a ratios and proportions task…

It is not surprising, as research has shown, that fractions are one of the most difficult of the elementary school math topics to teach and learn in ways that are meaningful. The authors reference a work by James Hiebert, "Mathematical, Cognitive, and Instructional Analyses of Decimal Fractions" (1992), that mathematical concepts should…

This practical teachers' guide will help you to unlock the enormous potential of new technology in order to enhance pupils' learning, particularly for young people with additional needs. Written by two of the UK's leading technology experts, this new resource will enable you to use ICT effectively to make lessons more accessible, motivating and…

This article describes techniques that can be used to enhance mathematics instruction for English language learners. Using the strategies suggested in this article, such as scaffolding instruction and accommodating their linguistic needs, mathematics teachers can help ELLs both succeed and increase their mathematics achievement. (Contains 3…

Sixteen impulsive hearing-impaired adolescents were trained to solve visual problems using a modified version of the "LOGO" computer language; subjects received concurrently presented self-instruction training while controls did not. On two dependent measures of impulsive problem-solving behaviors, treatment subjects demonstrated…

One aim of this study was to identify, in a group of unsuccessful college level problem solvers, the status and use of their declarative knowledge as revealed by students' attempts to solve novel problems in a pencil-and-paper setting. It was hypothesized that for some unsuccessful problem solvers, their problem representation could be improved by…

Describes a technique using a color-coded holistic scoring system to achieve greater understanding of the assessment process on the part of students by having them score classmates' solutions to a problem. (MKR)