The requirement for a method of capturing problem solving on a whiteboard for later replay stems from my teaching load, which includes two classes of first-year university general physics, each with relatively large class sizes of approximately 80-100 students. Most university-level teachers value one-to-one interaction with the students and find…

This note describes an interdisciplinary project designed to enhance students' knowledge of the basic techniques taught in a multivariable calculus course. The note discusses the four main requirements of the project and then the solutions for each requirement. Concepts covered include differentials, gradients, Lagrange multipliers, constrained…

As the number of students with disabilities who are entering postsecondary education continues to rise, the need for their adequate preparation to successfully complete programs of study is a critical concern. A common characteristic of students who successfully enter and complete programs of study in postsecondary settings is that of having…

This study explored the link between teachers' reports of their relationships with individual kindergartners and their self-reported pedagogical practices toward these children. Two samples of kindergarten teachers were examined. They were questioned about, respectively, 117 and 167 children selected as socially inhibited, hyperactive, or average…

Early and intensive behavioral intervention (EIBI) has been established as an effective treatment for autism. However, the complexity and intensity of EIBI programs make it difficult to fully report all critical aspects of the independent variable. Consequently, scientific reports of EIBI outcomes have been criticized for providing less than…

Assessing whether or not students learn what they are supposed to has long been part of the educational process, encouraged even more in recent years by mandates to meet federal No Child Left Behind requirements and state achievement standards. But unlike summative assessments, which rely mostly on end-of-year test scores to gauge student…

This bridge study evaluated the effects of contingency-specifying instructions (CSIs) and incomplete instructions (IIs) in terms of establishing instructional control of appropriate behavior. Results suggested that instructional control and maintenance were achieved with CSIs but not with IIs. Results are discussed in terms of the potential use of…

This article discusses how teachers can organize and use mathemagic tricks in their curriculum and classroom to enhance conceptual understanding. Four mathemagic tricks are presented and analyzed. (Contains 3 figures and 5 online resources.)

A common problem in learning mathematics concerns the gap between, on the one hand, doing the formalisms and calculations of abstract mathematics and, on the other hand, applying these in a specific contextualized setting for example the engineering world. The skills acquired through problem-based learning (PBL), in the special model used at…

Elapsed-time problems are notoriously difficult for children. Instruction on techniques for teaching and learning elapsed time is not emphasized in current mathematics education literature. Nor is it addressed in "Curriculum Focal Points for Prekindergarten through Grade 8 Mathematics: A Quest for Coherence" (NCTM 2006). This absence of…

People remember information better if they generate the information while studying rather than read the information. However, prior research has not investigated whether this generation effect extends to related but unstudied items and has not been conducted in classroom settings. We compared third graders' success on studied and unstudied…

This article discusses an ongoing study into issues relevant to the design of learning objects for educational applications via portable digital assistant (PDA) technology. The specific areas of inquiry in this study are: the kinds of learning objects that are effective for PDA delivery; contexts for their effective educational applications; and…

Project-based science (PBS) instruction can simply be defined as a student-centered science teaching approach, in which students produce tangible learning outcomes by posing and answering research questions that are relevant to their own lives and communities. In a PBS classroom, students are encouraged to take responsibility for their own…

This article focuses on spontaneous knowledge-building in the field of "the arithmetic "of" the child." The aim is to investigate the conceptual progress of fifteen children during their early school years in the compulsory school. The study is based on the epistemology of radical constructivism and the methodology of…

Even though comprehension of human physiology is crucial in the clinical setting, students frequently learn part of this subject using rote memory and then are unable to transfer knowledge to other contexts or to solve clinical problems. This study evaluated the impact of articulating the concept map strategy with the mediated learning experience…