THE PURPOSE OF THIS STUDY WAS TWOFOLD--(1) TO FIND WHAT LOGICAL HABITS AND ABILITIES POSSESSED BY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL CHILDREN WERE DEMONSTRATED IN THE PERFORMANCE OF COMPOSITIONAL TASKS, AND (2) TO COMPARE THE WRITTEN COMPOSITIONS OF ELEMENTARY SCHOOL CHILDREN WHO HAD STUDIED UNDER THE NEBRASKA CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT CENTER'S LANGUAGE ARTS PROGRAM…

It is generally conceded that there is much for a child to learn while attending nursery school, but the teacher is often unsure as to what type of curriculum or program will best assure such learning. Specifically, although play has been part of all nursery school programs, it is questioned whether spontaneous play (that is, relatively…

A CONCEPT ATTAINMENT TASK IN WHICH CHILDREN ARE ASKED TO IDENTIFY A CONCEPT THROUGH DETERMINING WHICH OF A SET OF OBJECTS ARE OR ARE NOT INSTANCES OF IT WAS USED TO INVESTIGATE THEIR PROBLEM-SOLVING BEHAVIOR. OF PARTICULAR INTEREST WAS THE QUESTION OF TO WHAT EXTENT THEY USED OR LEARNED THE STRATEGY OF VARYING ONE FACTOR WHILE HOLDING ALL OTHERS…

Describes three activities that the teacher can employ to help students develop thinking skills through mathematics instruction: (1) memorization using the technique of chunking; (2) higher order thinking with magic squares; and (3) predicting games. Identifies eight facets of the teacher's role in promoting thinking skills. (MDH)

AN INQUIRY (SPECIFIC DISCOVERY) APPROACH TO LEARNING WAS SUBJECTED TO A RIGOROUS TEST AND EVALUATION PROGRAM, INVOLVING ELEMENTARY INSTRUCTION IN THE PHYSICAL SCIENCES. STUDENTS IN THE FOURTH, FIFTH, AND SIXTH GRADES SERVED AS SUBJECTS. EVALUATIVE CRITERIA WERE (1) SCIENCE CONCEPT ACHIEVEMENT, (2) DIVERGENT THINKING OR CREATIVITY, AND (3)…

This study was designed to determine students' abilities and difficulties in articulating the relationship between function and derivative. High-school students were presented 15 problems during two 75-minute interviews in which they were asked to construct functions experimentally in three different contexts: motion, fluids, and number-change. In…

Discusses the potential that school mathematics has for being a source of exploration and discovery for students and teachers. Provides a process-oriented definition of understanding mathematics. Presents activities in which students construct computer and actual models of polyhedra and make conjectures regarding a medical research application of…

This learning module helps the teacher to master teaching skills that stimulate children to explore materials and to order their explorations in ways that lead to classification and that generate the child's own structuring of his discoveries and experiences. Teaching behaviors focused upon are congruent with Piagetian concepts about a child's…

Describes the use and rationale of "Silent Teaching," a teaching technique in which the teacher remains silent as students generate and evaluate hypotheses while trying to understand an as-yet undiscovered concept. (MDH)