Against the backdrop of half a century of research in mathematics problem solving, Polya's last stage is especially conspicuous--by the scarcity of research on it! Much of the research focused on the first three stages (J.M. Francisco and C.A. Maher, "Conditions for promoting reasoning in problem solving: Insights from a longitudinal…

This article examines some of the various judgmental errors and rationales that high school students make when attempting to solve basic probability exercises. Many of these errors allow the students to arrive at a correct answer and, thus, need to be examined more closely. (Contains 4 tables.)

The history of strategies research during the past quarter century has been a story of significant conceptualizations and reconceptualizations regarding the nature, development, and teaching of cognitive and metacognitive strategies. Theoretical models, empirical research, and discussions contributed by Michael Pressley have been central to…

In instructional multimedia design, it is often recommended that text accompanying pictures be presented in a personalised style to promote learning. The superiority of personalised over formal text is may be explained using social agency theory (Mayer, 2005b), but it has not been investigated empirically whether such effects are valid in…

To help make science relevant to student's everyday lives, the authors required their 10th-grade summer school students to read selections from a popular nonfiction science book. By doing so, they were able to promote literacy and provide an authentic portrayal of the nature of science in a way that was fun and interesting for their students. This…

This publication is a legal document that specifies the minimum performance outcomes for student learning within a three-course sequence. These outcomes are defined in terms of the contexts for language learning, the communicative acts that students will engage in and the repertoire needed to carry out these acts. The overarching goal of this…

The author's secondary school mathematics students have often reported to her that quadratic relations are one of the most conceptually challenging aspects of the high school curriculum. From her own classroom experiences there seemed to be several aspects to the students' challenges. Many students, even in their early secondary education, have…

The authors discuss the challenges encountered by English-language learners (ELLs) as they attempt to interpret the figurative language of their new cultures. Providing ELL students with explicit instruction in interpreting figurative language--a bridge to reading comprehension--is a significant goal for teachers who design instruction for…