This is the last in a series of four policy briefs to be published by The Center for Comprehensive School Reform and Improvement in 2005. The briefs are intended to provide fresh insights and useful advice to policymakers and school assistance providers. The first part of this policy brief breaks down the process of sustaining improvement and…

This study investigates computer-mediated communication (CMC) to facilitate the construction of a learning community of preservice teachers. The formation of a learning community involves students working together to solve ill-structured problems and applying knowledge and experience to heuristic teaching. "Peer learning" broadly…

Describes a study that used a mental models perspective to examine the search behaviors of gifted elementary school children searching a full text electronic encyclopedia. The discussion covers analyses of search patterns used, differences between younger and older searchers, suggestions for systems design, and needed further research. (39…

Presents two spreadsheets for middle school students applying Polya's heuristic to help develop number sense, reasoning abilities, and problem-solving skills. Spreadsheet 1, "the coin problem," allows students to vary coin quantities to total $8.32. Spreadsheet 2, "ratios," develops number relationships while finding 3 3-digit…

Examined cognitive processing and performance of 12 average seventh-grade students during cooperative problem solving. Factors that impeded performance included lack of an experiential framework, imposition of unrequired restrictions, lack of individual monitoring of cognitive activity, and unproductive beliefs. Factors that enhanced performance…

Numbers 1 through 5 of the 1982 TECFORS newsletter include these articles: "A Comprehensive ESL Reading Program" (Carol Qazi); "The Purpose of the Passive" (Virginia French Allen); "'Standards' Seconded" (Timothy H. Robinson); "Vocabulary and the College-Bound International Student" (Parts 1-3) (Kerry Segel); "Using Invention Heuristics to Teach…

Sentence combining is a powerful tool for structuring information and can be used effectively throughout the composing process. The teaching of composition can integrate into the composing process a number of concepts, including the use of heuristics, intellectual strategies, organizing principles, and sentence combining. A useful model for the…

This study examined whether analogy or means-ends strategies (heuristics) would be used to solve geometric puzzle-like problems, which were generated by a microcomputer. The subjects in the two-group experiment were undergraduate students enrolled in an introductory psychology course at Potsdam College (New York). One group of subjects learned…

One of the strengths of the Pennsylvania Council of Teachers of Mathematics (PCTM) is that it gives mathematicians and mathematics educators the opportunity to exchange and contribute to each other's professional growth. The topic for this 1985 yearbook, the first of a proposed ongoing series, has been chosen to coincide with the annual PCTM…

Although early childhood education (ECE) teachers frequently use the concept of the "teachable moment" (TM) when they reflect upon their teaching experiences, there is a lack of discussion in the professional literature regarding what a TM is or how teachers construct the notion of TM-oriented curriculum practice through their…

This study investigated the effects of heuristically based assignments and tests on adolescents' written responses to literature. In order to examine both tests and instruction, two separate but related experiments were conducted. Experiment 1 investigated whether the inclusion of guided prewriting on essay tests for two poems and two short…

This book combines suggestions for the teaching of problem solving with activities and carefully discussed non-routine problems which students should find interesting as they gain valuable experience in problem solving. The over 300 activities and problems have been gleaned from a variety of sources and have been classroom tested by practicing…

Provided is a teacher's guide for a problem-solving activity that establishes a link between number patterns and geometry by focusing on the development of recurrence relations established when generating central polygonal numbers. Reproducible worksheets and a 3.0 BASIC program for the activity are given. (MDH)

Provides guidance to academic librarians for making cost-effective and appropriate purchase and networking decisions for electronic bibliographic database products. Topics include user needs, user and program demographics, academic computing and network support, delivery options, and considerations for the future. (Author/LRW)

This research uses an autobiographical approach to examine the relation of age to several aspects of wisdom. In Study 1 (N = 86), adolescents', young adults', and older adults' wisdom narratives were content-coded for the types of life situations mentioned and the forms that wisdom took. Types of life situations reported (e.g., life decisions)…