Eliciting, responding to, and advancing students' mathematical thinking all lie at the heart of great teaching. In this article, the authors describe a formative assessment approach that teachers can use to learn more about their students' mathematical thinking and inform their instructional decisions. This assessment approach draws on a widely…

Recommends that teachers avoid cookbook-type exercises and predescribed protocols for laboratory work and instead engage students in research that can teach critical thinking, problem solving, and analytical skills. (DDR)

Presents an activity that illustrates the application of mathematics to modern navigation and utilizes the Global Positioning System (GPS). GPS is a constellation of 24 satellites that enables receivers to compute their position anywhere on the earth with great accuracy. (DDR)

Presents an interdisciplinary unit in which students ask questions about themselves, gather data, and participate in statistical analysis and graphing activities related to the data. Contains an assessment instrument and data sheet example. (DDR)

Provides background information on the Science Education Quantitative Literacy (SEQL) project that is designed to enhance student laboratory experiences by working together on data collection and analysis. Includes details of an activity from the project curriculum on how many drops of water can be placed on a penny. (DDR)

Enables students to examine the time course for seed imbibition and the pressure generated by imbibing seeds. Provides background information, detailed procedures, and ideas for further investigation. (DDR)

Focuses on the development of graphing skills through a data collection activity that answers the question of the relationship between rubber band width and flight distance. Includes definitions of terms and instructions for helping students construct line and bar graphs. (DDR)

Defines action research in terms of science education, delineates the process, provides the rationale for research into practice, and gives an example of putting this process into action. Includes some tips for data collection and analysis. (DDR)

Provides an example that focuses on temperature and illustrates how in-depth study can meet multiple content standards for middle school science and mathematics in the subjects of measurement and data analysis. (DDR)

Explains how controlling student access to data can be used as a strategy enabling students to take the role of a research geologist. Students develop models based on limited data and conduct field tests by comparing their predictions with the additional data. (DDR)

Reports on a school project that focuses on a lake's ecosystem and engages students in data collection and analysis. Data are shared with the local government to assist with the monitoring of water quality. Includes tips on group cooperation and assessment. (DDR)

Addresses the creation of the U.S. census, the various reasons for the census, and its role as a "reflecting pool" in society. Provides a timeline of the decennial censuses from 1790-2000 and primary documents of schedules used in different censuses for analysis. Aims to promote understanding of the census' place in society. (CMK)

One of the most effective ways to implement the research-based instructional strategies from Classroom Instruction That Works is to use them with educational technologies, such as word processing and spreadsheet applications, multimedia, data collection tools, communication software, and the Internet. This book shows you how and gives you hundreds…

Describes an easy-to-use, inexpensive field trip/laboratory exercise designed to delineate the home ranges of small animals. Students participate in the design of the exercise; collection, analysis, and interpretation of data; and the presentation of results. Contains 19 references. (DDR)

Describes the use of a student-designed questionnaire to generate data for teaching statistical procedures and concepts. Maintains that students learn firsthand that data analysis is an integral part of the research process. Concludes that students find real data more interesting. (CFR)