Discovery learning, defined as intentional learning through problem solving and under the supervision of the teacher, is discussed in terms of its advantages and disadvantages, with suggestions for its application. (JMF)

Describes guided discovery and problem-solving programs, providing a buyer's guide for same. The guide includes program name, source, current price, type (such as learning module, simulation, adventure), brief description, and whether the program has graphics and sound effects. (JN)

America 2000 presents an educational reform agenda that neglects the arts. Prevailing misconceptions of the arts are based on a massive misunderstanding of their role in human development and education. The arts contribute significantly by celebrating the value of multiple perspectives and nuances in problem solving, relating form to content, and…

Notes need for outdoor education programs for gifted students. Describes a 1981 survey of such programs provided by New York's Board of Cooperative Educational Services and outdoor education centers. Renzulli's Enrichment Triad Model and Parents' Creative Problem Solving Process are suggested as models to teach gifted students through outdoor…

This article discusses how the World Wide Web can empower students to think creatively, especially the gifted. It profiles 3 Web sites that discuss techniques, games, and strategies for enhancing creative thinking and 13 Web sites that contain information on inventors and inventions to stimulate gifted students. (Contains one reference.) (CR)

This pamphlet discusses group problem solving in schools. Its point of departure is that teachers go at problems from a number of different directions and that principals need to capitalize on those differences and bring a whole range of skills and perceptions to the problem-solving process. Rather than trying to get everyone to think alike,…

Museum objects can be the springboard for exercising critical thinking. There are four main thought processes associated with critical thinking: (1) fluent thinking, the ability to produce many ideas; (2) flexible thinking, the ability to view something in different ways; (3) original thinking, the ability to produce unique ideas; and (4)…

A practical guidebook of ideas, lesson materials, and related resources for developing imaginative and productive thinking skills of children is presented to assist teachers and parents. Emphasis is placed on the use of strategies and techniques that enhance originality, mental imagery, reverie, reflection, humor, novel playfulness, and divergent…

Proposes that problem scenarios are activities that give students opportunities to employ mathematics across the curriculum by asking them to define problems, identify information needed and potential sources of data, and make related conjectures. Discusses an example of a scenario involving transportation. (MDH)

Describes four activities to develop visualization skills and the concept of dimensionality in which students (1) visualize transforming figures between the second and third dimensions; (2) identify the three-dimensional objects from their two-dimensional projections; (3) conjecture about the vertices, edges, and faces of zero- to four-dimensional…

Discusses how a single problem can be utilized to discuss mathematical skills and concepts at several different levels. Presents a problem involving fractions examined at the following four levels according to the abilities of the students: (1) finding solutions; (2) identifying methods for finding solutions; (3) exploring similar examples; and…

The gap between researchers and teachers has minimized the impact that research should have on school development. Using teachers as researchers is one way of empowering them to adopt the perspective of the researcher. Research-oriented activity is then seen as one promising means of improving the teachers' pedagogical expertise. It is assumed…

This book attempts to introduce students to the creative aspects of mathematics through exploratory problems. The introduction presents the criteria for the selection of the problems in the book. Criteria indicate that problems should: be immediately attractive, require data to be generated or gathered, appeal to students from junior high school…

Reviews research about child development, curiosity, questioning, boredom, and social class differences, and the relationships between attitudes and capacities of the learners and the content and complexities of the materials. (See TM 504 595 for availability). (Author/CTM)

This document builds on the foundation laid by the 1985 edition of the "Mathematics Framework for California Public Schools" to describe the structure and organization of instructional programs that address the goal of developing mathematical power for all students. An introduction discusses the nature of the proposed reform and the…