To test whether gains in cognitive development can be accelerated, an intervention model was used to give pupils special lessons in science, using ideas of cognitive conflict, metacognition, and bridging in the context of formal operations. Found that intervention led to substantial and long-lasting increased achievement in science, mathematics,…

Discusses the author's attempts to incorporate small group learning into college mathematics courses. Gives suggestions for beginning to use small groups (including alternative ways of evaluation), reactions reflected in student journals, and an urging to find institutional and personal support while attempting change. (MKR)

Provides five fully developed library media activities that are designed for use with specific curriculum units in career education, social studies, mathematics, science, and language arts. Library media skills, curriculum objectives, grade levels, resources, instructional roles, procedures, evaluation, and follow-up are described for each…

New computer software for physics, mathematics, computer science, and statistics courses at North Carolina State University and in some high schools allows students to solve problems on the computer, recording every answer submitted to provide faculty with a record of student performance, and providing immediate feedback to students. Computerized…

This article summarizes the findings of the National Research Council (NRC) report "On Evaluating Curricular Effectiveness" and examines the reviews in middle grades mathematics undertaken by the What Works Clearinghouse (WWC). The NRC report reviewed and assessed 147 key evaluations of 13 National Science Foundation-supported K-12 mathematics…

Mentoring is often assumed to be done by experienced teachers with new teachers in one-on-one settings and designed to help the mentee be successful with the tasks of teaching. In the context of preservice teacher education, mentoring usually takes place during field experiences, particularly student teaching when the mentor is the host classroom…

This study examined teacher empowerment through the development of individual and collective teacher efficacy. A content-centered staff development program implemented in a Michigan school district by the New Zealand Ministry of Education and Oakland University helped teachers develop efficacy in the teaching of mathematics and in the ability to…

Although schools contain many material artifacts, studies in classrooms have tended to focus on discourse and quality of social interaction even when artifacts are being used. Responding to Engstrom's (1999) invitation to take artifacts seriously, three studies are described in which a material object was essential to a classroom activity. The…

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to obtain an in-depth understanding of kindergarten teachers' instructional time allocations and the factors that influenced their decisions. A maximum variation sample of six kindergarten teachers was chosen representing variations in gender, socioeconomic status of the school where they taught, and…

In this article, the author presents findings of a project that focused on identifying elements in the learning environment that promote numeracy outcomes. The project--"Numeracy Research and Development Initiative"--was undertaken in eight schools across a range of settings within the three schooling systems in Queensland and was…

The purpose of this study was to develop a program to help cultivate divergent thinking in mathematics based on open-ended problems and to investigate its effect. The participants were 398 seventh grade students attending middle schools in Seoul. A method of pre- and post-testing was used to measure mainly divergent thinking skills through…

This report focuses on a family of interventions that includes all "Direct Instruction" products ("DISTAR" and "Language for Learning"). "Direct Instruction" was used to refer to this family of interventions, as well as to all versions past and present. "Direct Instruction" includes teaching…

We study the effects of various types of education and training on the ability of teachers to promote student achievement. Previous studies on the subject have been hampered by inadequate measures of teacher training and difficulties addressing the non-random selection of teachers to students and of teachers to training. We address these issues by…

Created by teachers for teachers, the Math Academy tools and activities included in this booklet were designed to create hands-on activities and a fun learning environment for the teaching of mathematics to the students. This booklet contains the themed program "Are You Game? Math Academy--Explorations in Probability," which teachers can use to…

Primary school learners' first encounters with mathematics in a traditional learning environment often create lifelong "math phobia."(Papert 1980) The situation in a country emerging from an oppressive education system designed to educationally disempower the majority of the population is much worse. The typical scenario in a previously…