The Third International Math and Science Study (TIMSS) concluded that teaching is a cultural activity. But do claims about teaching based largely in comparisons of math teachers also apply to teaching in disciplines with less well-defined problems, like civics? What is gained and what is lost when the cultural aspect of teaching becomes the focus?…

The findings of this study support the positive effect of constructivist learning practices, specifically on emphasis on problem solving strategies and their effect on student mathematics achievement. The results also suggest that setting, certification, teaching experience, gender, and minority status are factors related to the use of…

Exponential, and logarithmic functions are pivotal mathematical concepts that play central roles in advanced mathematics. Unfortunately, these are also concepts that give students serious difficulty. This report describe a theory of how students acquire an understanding of these functions by prescribing a set of mental constructions that a student…

In the context of higher education, the development of students' problem solving skills continues to be an area of much ongoing research. Effective teaching of problem solving requires the adoption of process-based approaches that reveal to students the ways that experts solve problems, and the coaching of students in higher order and…

This book is one of four books in the Science-by-Design Series created by TERC and funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF). It challenges high school students to investigate the physics of boat performance and work with systems and modeling. Through research, design, testing, and evaluation of a model boat, students experience the…

Social Studies teachers need to emphasize reading instruction across the curriculum; they can consider 11 selected methods to assist pupil progress in reading social studies content. Recommendations include introducing new words from the reading; initiating peer reading and tutoring; having an aid read orally; tape recording the selection to be…

Providing an overview of some of the effective ways of helping students to develop and improve their spelling skills, this book emphasizes the importance of explicit teaching. The first chapter considers current issues and perspectives in spelling. The second chapter discusses how children acquire spelling skills, and the third chapter discusses…

Past research in a high school genetics classroom has shown that groups of students solving computer-generated genetics problems differed in their application of assessment criteria to the tentative models they generated, and that consistent application of certain model-assessment criteria correlated with success in proposing adequate explanatory…

This bulletin for teachers and supervisors tells how children of the United States are learning to conserve the Nation's reserves of soil, water, forests, fish, wildlife, minerals, and other natural resources. The purpose of this bulletin is to serve as a source of good practices to be dipped into as needed for ideas, not necessarily to be read…

Presented advice for the teacher faced with the student, who finds the learning situation difficult to adjust to, and who could, if badly handled, effectively distract the teacher from accomplishing his objectives. (RK)

Author discussed some important changes in educational thinking and educational practice associated with recent events on both sides of the Atlantic-changes that seem to be bringing us closer to "good education". (Author/RK)

Discusses the development of a design task in which the students can focus on problems in some part of the city. Describes such an improved strategy for teaching the design of complex systems as challenging and beneficial, especially for those interested in urban-related careers. (CC)

Discusses the use of varied resources to conduct undergraduate systems design courses at the Drexel University with the support of the Sloan Foundation. The purpose is to provide students with an ability to develop solutions to problems encountered in a real, living, and dynamic situation. (CC)

Bloom's Taxonomy of Educational Objectives,'' the social studies inquiry model, reading comprehension skills, and the law-focused education case study methods can be seen as functionally related. (Author)