The work in the Comenius Network project Developing Quality in Mathematics Education II (DQME II) has a main focus on development and evaluation of modelling tasks. One reason is the gap between what mathematical modelling is and what is taught in mathematical classrooms. This article deals with one modelling task and focuses on how two teachers…

Students often make mistakes in physics courses and are expected to identify, correct, and learn from their mistakes, usually with some assistance from an instructor, textbook, or fellow students. This aid may come in many forms, such as problem solutions that are given to a class, tutoring to an individual student, or a peer discussion among…

In this paper I report on 625 student responses and analyse student perceptions of Problem-Based Learning during their first semester at university. The data I present outlines the scope of the implementation at six entry-level units for the years 2007 to 2009 and is followed by a qualitative analysis of student responses. Eight themes are…

The aim of this paper is to investigate the role that auxiliary means (manipulatives such as cubes and representations such as number line) play for kindergartners in working out mathematical tasks. Our assumption was that manipulatives such as cubes would be used by kindergartners easily and successfully whereas the number line would be used by…

Many workshops and meetings with the US high school mathematics teachers revealed a lack of familiarity with the use of transformations in solving equations and problems related to the roots of polynomials. This note describes two transformational approaches to the derivation of the quadratic formula as well as transformational approaches to…

This is a series of short cases useful for a variety of courses, including physiological psychology, neuroscience, cognitive psychology, cognitive science, and cognitive neuropsychology/neuroscience. Each of these cases depicts a breakdown in language that may be traced to damage in an area or areas that are related to language processing, and…

Many statistics texts pose inferential statistical problems in a disjointed way. By using a simple five-step procedure as a template for statistical inference problems, the student can solve problems in an organized fashion. The problem and its solution will thus be a stand-by-itself organic whole and a single unit of thought and effort. The…

The oral arguments of 12th grade students while solving tasks related to evolution are examined. Two groups (N = 45), taught by the same teacher, were studied during a complete teaching sequence. The paper focuses on data from the last sessions, devoted to solving problems in small groups, problems related to different dimensions of the…

Middle school students often struggle when writing testable problems, planning valid and reliable procedures, and drawing meaningful evidence-based conclusions. To address this issue, the author created a student-centered lab handout to facilitate the inquiry process for students. This handout has reduced students' frustration and helped them…

Study after study documents the skills the American workforce needs to stay competitive in a global marketplace, yet increasingly employers are compelled to look overseas for those skills. The authors advocate for a different manner of thinking, focused on engaging students in work that is relevant to the world they see, encouraging them to take…

Many teachers face behaviors such as talking out, disrespectful comments, general classroom disorder, and even verbal abuse on a daily basis. Students who create these disruptions in classroom settings interrupt the flow of instruction and affect the behaviors of other students, creating a chaotic environment. Because students with or at risk for…

In this study, the effects of teacher-directed and self-directed problem-solving strategies on students' attitudes toward physics were explored. Problem-solving strategies were used with the experimental group, while the control group was instructed using traditional teaching methods. The study was conducted with 270 students at various high…

In this paper we present a general framework, called NUCLEO, for the application of socio-constructive educational approaches in higher education. The underlying pedagogical approach relies on an adaptation model in order to improve group dynamics, as this has been identified as one of the key features in the success of collaborative learning…

Finding ways to help primary-grade students overcome difficulties in solving mathematical word problems can be a daunting task for teachers in a regular classroom setting. Student challenges may include: (1) difficulty with vocabulary; (2) lack of confidence when solving problems; (3) confusion on the proper operation to use when solving a…

From media news coverage to fluctuating gas prices, the topic of energy is hard to ignore. However, little connection often exists between energy use in our daily lives and the presentation of energy-related concepts in the science classroom. The concepts of energy production and consumption bring together knowledge from several science…