Ten research-supported instructional components are presented for promoting mathematics achievement in students with learning problems. A curriculum (Strategic Math Series) found to be effective in teaching students with learning problems to acquire and understand basic facts and apply them in problem-solving activities is described. (Author/JDD)

Describes classroom projects in a second-grade classroom based on the Foxfire approach to instruction. Projects planned and implemented in the classroom by students included: (1) sub shop; (2) recycling; (3) Black cemetery; and (4) garden. Students engaged in brainstorming, creating webs, weekly planning, and writing about their activities. (KS)

Discusses the use of drawings to nurture problem-solving attitudes and independent learning. Drawings help develop thinking skills, clarify misconceptions, develop representational preferences, supply a context for relationships in K-8 mathematics, and illustrate mathematical connections. (MDH)

Two teachers compared eighth graders who solved math story problems using a strategies approach (several strategies), a strategies and traditional approach, or a traditional approach. Achievement test results improved with the strategies approach. Students who learned strategies considered themselves good problem solvers who liked challenge and…

Presents the idea that, to improve secondary science, school science teaching students must be taught to use the activities of science: questioning, information gathering, hypothesizing, testing and conveying, and confronting current issues and problems in science. Activities and ideas that can be used to help students understand and use the…

A series of activities involving figurate numbers that allow students at various levels to integrate numerical, geometric, arithmetic, patterning, measuring, and problem-solving skills are presented. A discussion of the geometric and numerical aspects of figurate numbers is included. Appended are IBM Logo procedures that will create pentagonal…

Recommends the use of concealed images as tools for teaching geography. Suggests that images be used as examples of geographers' search for spatial regularities, metaphors for the quasi-religious quest for scientific truth, and fallibility of scientific citation. Argues that the purpose of geography becomes palpable to students when the concealed…

Effects of acquisition of a problem-solving model on the ability to transfer to analogous problems in different domains were studied with 210 undergraduates who solved a biology problem and a transfer problem. Beneficial effects of the problem-solving model and implications for instructional strategies are discussed. (SLD)

This study examined the differences in middle school students' (n=287) perceptions of science activities among three instructional approaches: (1) lecture-worksheet; (2) traditional laboratory; and (3) problem solving. Chi-square analysis of questionnaire responses indicated that, on seven of the eight questions, students responded more positively…

Discusses a classroom presentation using a Tonka toy truck's forward and backward motion that (1) develops a graphical representation of the truck's one-dimensional motion; (2) creates graphs representing constant velocity; (3) leads students to a definition of average velocity; and (4) introduces the concept of instantaneous velocity. (MDH)

Proposes the use of humor and the personalization of word problems by inserting students' names in the problem statement as methods of gaining students' attention. Illustrates their use in a mixture problem and the Tower of Hanoi problem. (MDH)

Presents three problems that help students develop a repertoire of heuristics and persistence in problem solving: the water-jug problem; the missionaries-and-cannibals problem; and the census-taker problem. Discusses methods to encourage students to persist. (MDH)

The relationship between specific gravity, salinity, and density in brine solutions is investigated. Students construct hydrometers to reinforce concepts learned in oceanography. Background information, salt requirements for the unknowns, directions, and reproducible worksheets are included. (KR)

Evidence is offered that the Levels of Attainment in Science in Britain's National Curriculum will be achieved by only the top 20 percent of 14 and 16 year olds, rather than 50 percent as planned. New teaching skills are presented as ways to alter this prediction. Success in improving standards is demonstrated in three examples. (Author/KR)

This panel interview from the Indiana University Summer Arts Institute contrasts notions about a traditional Bauhaus foundation with a flexible, organic curriculum model. Directed instruction is also compared to problem-solving approaches. Peer teaching, science for art majors, and art for science majors are also discussed. (Author/PB)