The role of games within education becomes clearer as students become more active and are able to take decisions, solve problems and react to the results of those decisions. The educational board game "Discovering the Cell" ("Celula Adentro"), is based on problem-solving learning. This investigative game attempts to stimulate…

The aim of this study was to investigate effectiveness of PDEODE (Predict-Discuss-Explain-Observe-Discuss-Explain) teaching strategy in helping students make sense of everyday situations. For this, condensation concept was chosen among many science concepts since it is related to many everyday-life events. Forty-eight eleventh graders students…

The study investigated the effects of structured and unstructured cooperating groups on students' behaviors, discourse and learning in junior high school. One hundred and sixty-four grade 9 students participated in the study. The students were videotaped as they worked in three to four person, mixed-gender and ability groups on a science-based…

One way of implementing project-based science (PBS) is to use problem-based learning (PBL), in which students formulate their own problems. These problems are often ill-structured, mirroring complex real-life problems where data are often messy and inclusive. In this article, the authors describe how they used PBL in a ninth-grade biology class in…

The modeling instruction pedagogy for the teaching of physics has been proven to be quite effective at increasing the conceptual understanding and problem-solving abilities of students to a much greater extent than that of nonmodeling students. Little research has been conducted concerning the cognitive and metacognitive skills that modeling…

Discusses Mission Possible, a problem-solving strategy that provides a wide range of learning experiences and encourages students and teachers to explore the use of scientific ideas and principles. Describes setting up a Mission Possible Day for primary students in a rural community. (Author/NB)

Presents an activity for students to construct their own two-cup balances. Suggests some alternatives for rejuvenating weak bar magnets. Describes how to remove burnt carbon deposits from glass vessels. (NB)

Explores acids and bases using different indicators, such as turmeric, purple grape juice, and lichens. Because some of these indicators are not as sensitive as cabbage juice or litmus paper, determining to which acids and bases each indicator is sensitive presents an enjoyable, problem-solving challenge for students. Presents directions for…

Describes experiments with Australian high school students that investigated differences in performance on chemistry word problems between two learning strategies: text editing, and conventional problem solving. Concluded that text editing had no advantage over problem solving in stoichiometry problems, and that the suitability of a text editing…

Presents the use of paradoxes as a strategy that enables students to develop their problem-solving and critical-thinking skills. Involves confronting the students with two very plausible ideas that they would normally accept uncritically, and then showing that the two ideas are apparently not compatible with each other. Discusses paradoxes in…

Provides a method to help students understand problem-solving techniques used in introductory physics courses. (MVL)

Notes that when using the screw as a simple machine, the pitch of the screw is important in the amount of force that will be produced. (MVL)

Reports on research attempting to identify the stages, skills, and strategies associated with children's (N=60) problem solving. Reports that conclusions including the creation of a five-stage model of problem solving are relevant not only to children in the 5-14 age group but to pupils undertaking a specific science course from year 10 onward.…

Performs analysis on a number of articles published between 1985 and 1995 describing experimental research into the effectiveness of a wide variety of teaching strategies for science problem solving. Identifies 22 articles describing 40 experiments that met standards for meta-analysis. Indicates that few of the independent variables were found to…

Describes the sociocultural theory motivating strategy "transformative communication" as well as a specific dialogue sequence that can be used as a cultural tool for accompanying such interaction. Illustrates the utility of the dialogue sequence in four key episodes within and inquiry-based high school earth science class. (Author/SAH)