An evaluation of a problem-solving program was conducted with 46 fifth- and seventh-grade teachers. Classes using the program scored significantly higher than control classes on measures of ability to understand problems, plan solution strategies, and get correct results. Different growth patterns and attitude changes were also noted. (MNS)

Discusses previous research on the potential of small-group activities in both research and instructional contexts, and considers the use of a science task as a context for group problem-solving. (MLH)

Describes a management skills seminar for head nurses and supervisors which utilizes an inductive method of problem analysis, maximizes transference of learning, participation, and reinforcement, and is based on principles of adult education. (TA)

This book offers an approach for helping K-8 students become invested in creating and living by classroom rules. It provides techniques for: helping students articulate their hopes and dreams for school; involving students in generating classroom rules that grow out of their hopes and dreams; modeling, practicing, and role playing the rules; using…

This Technical Paper focuses on principles for teaching problem solving. Part 1 addresses the need to teach problem solving. Part 2 defines problem solving skills, and describes: general problem solving models of the 1960s and 1970s, current problem solving models, declarative knowledge, mental models, expert versus novice knowledge, procedural…

This 1998 yearbook aims to stimulate and answer questions that all educators of mathematics need to consider to adapt school mathematics for the 21st century. The papers included in this book cover a wide variety of topics, including student-invented algorithms, the assessment of such algorithms, algorithms from history and other cultures, ways…

Problem solving is one of the main components of mathematics education. This document treats problem solving as a process to be used for learning skills across the mathematics curriculum. Definition of problem solving, the environments promoting problem solving, teaching behaviors and attitudes that enhance problem solving, the criteria for good…

The Third International Math and Science Study (TIMSS) concluded that teaching is a cultural activity. But do claims about teaching based largely in comparisons of math teachers also apply to teaching in disciplines with less well-defined problems, like civics? What is gained and what is lost when the cultural aspect of teaching becomes the focus?…

The findings of this study support the positive effect of constructivist learning practices, specifically on emphasis on problem solving strategies and their effect on student mathematics achievement. The results also suggest that setting, certification, teaching experience, gender, and minority status are factors related to the use of…

This document identifies five types of learning experiences which are relevant to understanding students' understanding of concepts and principles. These include exploring existing concepts, honing and clustering concepts, developing analytical and reasoning skills, developing problem solving skills, and structuring knowledge in memory. Each of…

In the context of higher education, the development of students' problem solving skills continues to be an area of much ongoing research. Effective teaching of problem solving requires the adoption of process-based approaches that reveal to students the ways that experts solve problems, and the coaching of students in higher order and…

This book is one of four books in the Science-by-Design Series created by TERC and funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF). It challenges high school students to investigate the physics of boat performance and work with systems and modeling. Through research, design, testing, and evaluation of a model boat, students experience the…

Social Studies teachers need to emphasize reading instruction across the curriculum; they can consider 11 selected methods to assist pupil progress in reading social studies content. Recommendations include introducing new words from the reading; initiating peer reading and tutoring; having an aid read orally; tape recording the selection to be…

Past research in a high school genetics classroom has shown that groups of students solving computer-generated genetics problems differed in their application of assessment criteria to the tentative models they generated, and that consistent application of certain model-assessment criteria correlated with success in proposing adequate explanatory…

This bulletin for teachers and supervisors tells how children of the United States are learning to conserve the Nation's reserves of soil, water, forests, fish, wildlife, minerals, and other natural resources. The purpose of this bulletin is to serve as a source of good practices to be dipped into as needed for ideas, not necessarily to be read…