Growing concern about the quality of public education in the United States has driven numerous educational reform efforts across the last three decades. These reforms include increased accountability as exemplified by various requirements of the federal No Child Left Behind Act, the introduction of new curriculum and instructional methods in…

The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001 requires states to ensure that all students make adequate yearly progress in achieving proficiency in English language arts and math. This study examines how six diverse schools have responded to the challenge of educating their students in math, particularly students with disabilities and other…

This book explores how teachers use class meetings for a variety of purposes, from planning for a substitute teacher to planning a science unit. It also looks at how students can use class meetings to set class goals and monitor their progress in achieving them, to reflect on accumulated learning, and to solve common problems such as teasing,…

This study examined the impact of different styles of parental communication and teaching on children's problem solving, focusing on how parental teaching and communication styles affected children's performance on four problem-solving games involving deduction/categorization and planning. Thirty-two children ages 4 and 5 years and their families…

"Thinking Science," the Cognitive Acceleration through Science Education (CASE) curriculum, is a program designed for 11-14 year olds (in the first two years of secondary school) which encourages them to reflect on their own thinking and to develop their reasoning power in tackling novel problems. This study presents results that represent the…

An effective training program for preparing troubleshooters provides knowledge needed to understand the technology, teaches the process of troubleshooting, and provides the opportunity to practice using their knowledge and skill to diagnose faulty equipment. Recent research and common sense indicate many troubleshooting programs overemphasize…

This study examined the role and development of applied problem solving in mathematics education in the Finnish comprehensive school. The development during the 1980s of applied problem solving in schools was positive in many ways: the changes were cautious and took place more slowly than had been planned; and many obstacles related to the…

A psycholinguistic approach to listening was used in this study of listening skills in second language (L2) acquisition. The study tried to identify and classify the problem-solving processes and strategies used by L2 listeners. The processes were categorized from a perspective that took into account the processes underlying their use rather than…

Teaching problem solving strategies and steps to first year college students enrolled in the pharmaceutical/chemical technology program as a part of their first year chemistry course focused on teaching the students the basic steps in problem solving and encouraging them to plan carefully and focus on the problem solving process rather than to…

This book offers successful teaching approaches based on college surveys and interviews with 30 professors who have received awards for teaching excellence. Chapter 1 is an overview of the challenges of college teaching. Chapters 2 and 3 consider agents for change, institutional inertia, and an historical evaluation of faculty development.…

This paper suggests that the mathematics teacher needs to do much reading and studying of important trends in improving the mathematics curriculum. Recommendations are made for what teachers need to look for in research studies in mathematics in order to help them recognize what would make for a quality study. Collaborative and individualized…

This book for teachers and administrators describes an approach to teaching that requires students to think, analyze, problem solve, and make meaning of what they have learned. Designed to be a companion guide to Teaching for Understanding: Linking Research with Practice, it shows teachers how to use the four critical components of the teaching…

Constructivism is the theory that people learn by constructing meaning through interpretive interactions with the social environment. Constructivist perspectives are a growing influence among educators seeking to help students connect learning with life experiences, making constructivism highly relevant to vocational and career educators. This…

This booklet examines the plight of homeless families who have children who need special educational services. It explores the magnitude of homelessness among families, provides empirical descriptions of homeless populations, and identifies factors contributing to the rising incidence of homelessness in the United States. Specific effects of…

Top-down problem solving is a methodical approach to obtaining real solutions for open-ended problems common in the realms of engineering and science. The technique provides a means for logically understanding a problem prior to attempting a solution. Steps in the top-down problem-solving method include the following: (1) identifying a need; (2)…