Environmental scientists warn that the health of the planet is rapidly deteriorating, and the primary cause of the crisis is human behavior. Psychology can contribute greatly to understanding and changing behaviors that negatively impact global ecosystems; however, environmental issues are not generally included in psychology curricula, and…

A team consisting of three faculty members from Agricultural Economics, Agribusiness management, and Food Science with two research assistants at Penn State University has been working for three years on creating a food product case library for a problem-based learning and case-based instruction course. With the assistance of experts from the food…

Discusses the dilemma case, a well-known method of case instruction in which a protagonist is thrust into the middle of a crisis and must make a decision. Enables students to gain an understanding of the issues and then suggest possible solutions to the dilemma. Develops students' critical-thinking skills and speaking abilities. (JRH)

This booklet explains the background, rationale, and issues addressed in the NCTM Curriculum and Evaluation Standards. A detailed vignette of a classroom lesson is presented as an example of what is envisioned for the future. A comparison of the differences between the reform urged by the Standards and the efforts of the "New Math"…

It was hypothesized that receiving a problem of the day would result in higher mathematics scores on the Ohio Ninth Grade Proficiency Test. An experimental group consisting of 19 students received a problem of the day treatment every day during the 5 month period. The 19 students in the control group received no special treatment. Test scores of…

Author explained his search for the solution of how to teach students poetry without, at the same time, creating a resistance to analysis of the poem. (RK)

This paper provides guidelines and programming commands for using LogoWriter activity cards in game-writing as a way to develop student programming skills. Suggestions are made for the specific activity cards to use, and solutions are provided for some of the problems that were most frequently encountered by the author's students as they worked on…

This discussion of some of the research literature that is relevant to the issue of teaching thinking provides descriptions of hypothetical, ideal thinkers, and problem solvers; considers the problem of teaching thinking and problem solving; and explores the issue of evaluating programs so that they can be revised and improved. Following Bransford…

A game is presented in which computation by a stepping-stone method is used to solve minimax problems. An additional application of this game is used for finding the Pearson correlation coefficient by non-parametric techniques. The game provides considerable computational practice as well as a motivational problem solving situation. (JP)

The ideas in this workbook for stimulating children's creative thinking are presented as integral parts of ten stories about a boy named Dudley Bond (a distant relative of a very famous spy), his friend Max (a professional bear), and his cousin Maybelle. They find their imaginations stretched by a backyard scientist-inventor who knows dozens of…

Two methods of solving problems are discussed: the step method and the translation method. The results of training students to use these methods are compared. (SD)

This pamphlet is designed to give help in developing problem solving by examples of techniques at grade levels one through six. A number of illustrations are presented of problems that are typical of the types appropriate at each grade level. For each problem, a suggestion of a solution appears with alternative methods suggested in several cases.…