Discusses aspects of cooperative problem solving that include the selection of appropriate problems and the grading of group and individual papers using an analytical scoring scale. Offers six tips for grading cooperative problem solving. An appendix provides solutions to cited problems, potential follow-up questions, and an annotated…

Suggests a social studies unit on escaping geography. Examines escape from dangerous places including an airliner, hotel fire, or war zone or from a social situation such as a boring speech or party. Describes historic escapes such as the Underground Railroad and the Berlin Wall. Lists learning strategies such as awareness of space and cognitive…

Presented is an activity which shows how mathematics is used in real life and helps to establish a need for mathematics in students' futures. Adapted from a scavenger-hunt idea, this activity helps students to discover that almost every career makes use of mathematics. (KR)

Four techniques used to incorporate writing and active learning into mathematics classrooms are described. They include summary sheets, short focused writing, medium length writing, and student presentations. Examples of how each technique can be used are included. (KR)

Small group work has grown in use throughout the 1980s. Reported are six issues that were raised concerning small groups resulting from a series of workshops for university students in which the students worked on problems in groups, jointly planned tasks, and critiquing their use during their practice experience. (MDH)

Presents a series of hands-on activities for grades K-2, 3-4, 5-6, and 6-8 using the common theme of kites to develop number sense in basic operations and fractions. Teachers' guides and worksheets are provided. (MDH)

Presents a study conducted to investigate the subjective experiences of a teacher making the transition from a traditional textbook, content-dispensing approach to a problem-solving approach to teaching science. Although outward changes in teaching materials and strategy are evidenced, the teacher shows little change in beliefs about the teacher's…

Presents teaching methods to rectify the tendency of students and even teachers to divide the smaller number into the larger in problem situations requiring division, while recognizing the impossibility of the answer in the situation. (MDH)

Presents activities that integrate story telling, history, and problem solving as a stimulus for discussion and creativity in the elementary mathematics classroom, and a way to relieve children's anxiety in an escalating curriculum. (MDH)

Current changes observed in medical education include alterations in program intensity, length, and cost; a greater selection of teaching methods; clinical experience sites; institutional goals and objectives; student evaluation techniques; and teaching sites. Students are being challenged increasingly to become self-directed problem solvers.…

Described are three activities and variations that can help students to understand the concept of place value. Allowing students to use concrete materials and helping them to bridge the gap between manipulatives and paper-and-pencil tasks are emphasized. (KR)

Discussed is the idea that, if students are allowed to use calculators when doing classwork, they should be allowed to use calculators on tests. Examples of calculator-active items are presented that are designed to accurately assess students' learning. (KR)

Presented is a scheduling algorithm that uses all the busses at each step for any rectangular array. Included are two lemmas, proofs, a theorem, the solution, and variations on this problem. (KR)

The NCTM Standards present a picture of classroom instruction different from present practice in secondary schools. Presented are three instructional practices: (1) presenting open-ended problems, (2) communication of ideas, and (3) probing for diversity and recommendations for restructuring mathematics instruction based on the California…

Presented are three methods to enrich the mathematics classroom. The first introduces an activity allowing students to discover the law of sines. The second gives eight distance-rate-time problems of value for their counterintuitive or elegant solutions. The third poses multiple answer questions that promote student interaction and communication.…