This booklet is the print component of a Title II-funded package designed to enhance elementary school mathematics instruction through a problem solving approach that promotes mathematics learning in an environment of inquiry, risk taking, and classroom dialogue. The other component is a 28-minute videotape in which teachers present each of the…

This yearbook is intended to be primarily a highlighting of the essential elements of those basic mathematical understandings which should be continually developed and extended throughout the entire mathematics curriculum. An attempt is also made to illustrate training in mathematical modes of thought, sometimes labeled problem solving or creative…

It is proposed that clinical decision making in pharmacy should integrate principles of pharmacoepidemiology, economics, and medical decision making, and that case studies provide an opportunity to use these principles in probabilistic reasoning, thereby improving self-learning, critical thinking, and therapeutic and monitoring skills. Steps in…

Presents activities in problem solving for levels K-2, 3-5, and 6-8 for each week of the month of March. Activities include open-ended problems and games that engage students' intellect and interest while working individually and cooperatively. (MDH)

Illustrates some applications of elementary probability and statistics to epidemiology, the branch of medical science that attempts to discover associations between events, patterns, and the cause of disease in human populations. Uses real-life examples involving cancer's link to smoking and the AIDS virus. (MDH)

This article showcases four Shel Silverstein works and how they can be used to launch mathematics investigations across the curriculum. Each selection focused on a different mathematical strand; for example, a poem titled "Where the Sidewalk Ends" demonstrates measurement and proportional reasoning, and another poem, "Falling Up," demonstrates…

Discovery learning in mathematics in the domain of probability based on hands-on experiments is normally limited because of the difficulty in providing sufficient materials and data volume in terms of repetitions of the experiments. Our cooperative, computational modelling and simulation environment engages students and teachers in composing and…

Statistics education is under review at all educational levels. Statistical concepts, as well as the use of statistical methods and techniques, can be taught in at least two contrasting ways. Specifically, (1) teaching can be theoretically and mathematically oriented, or (2) it can be less mathematically oriented being focused, instead, on…

Items in the North Central Regional Educational Laboratory's (NCREL) School Development Library series are multimedia packages consisting of print, video, audio, and CD-ROM resources designed to support educators in their efforts to improve classroom instruction. This particular set consists of a 40-minute video and a printed booklet focusing on…

Debates about developmental instruction have prompted postsecondary institutions to justify their developmental courses. This study investigated a method of documenting the benefits of developmental courses that involves using placement test scores to predict college outcomes separately for students who take a developmental course before taking…

Presents four cases of real-world probabilistic situations to promote more effective teaching of probability. Calculates the probability of obtaining six of six different prizes successively in six, seven, eight, and nine boxes of cereal, generalizes the problem to n boxes of cereal, and offers suggestions to extend the problem. (MDH)

Discusses the surprising result that the expected number of marbles of one color drawn from a set of marbles of two colors after two draws without replacement is the same as the expected number of that color marble after two draws with replacement. Presents mathematical models to help explain this phenomenon. (MDH)

Describes the Microworld Chance, a simulation-oriented computer environment that allows students to explore probability concepts in five subenvironments: coins, dice, spinners, thumbtacks, and marbles. Results of a teaching experiment to examine the effectiveness of the microworld in changing students' misconceptions about probability are…

Reviews chapters of this book on probability in mathematics education. Topics discussed in the chapters include a historical perspective of probability, an epistemological perspective of probability, an overview of the psychological research on probability learning, computers in probability education, and an analysis of the probability curriculum.…

What people mean by randomness should be taken into account when teaching statistical inference. This experiment explored subjective beliefs about randomness and probability through two successive tasks. Subjects were asked to categorize 16 familiar items: 8 real items from everyday life experiences, and 8 stochastic items involving a repeatable…