In 1987, Toronto Board of Education mandated the development of standards, called "benchmarks," for students' achievement in mathematics and language at the end of grades 3, 6, 8, and 10. The development and testing of benchmarks stressing higher-order thinking, problem solving, and the use of experiential approaches and manipulative…

Presents the teaching strategy of having first grade students write their own word problems. Suggests the use of calculators to permit students to create problems with larger, more realistic numbers. Gives examples of student-generated problems and discusses students' attempts to solve the problems. (MDH)

Shows how a manipulative device for taking attendance can be used to exercise mathematical thinking processes in a variety of contexts at different elementary school grade levels. Suggests activities using a magnetic attendance board for gathering classroom information; developing number, estimation, and graphing concepts; forming and verifying…

Results in 487 reports were integrated by meta-analysis to study characteristics of problem solvers, conditions for harder and easier problems, effects of different instructional methods on problem-solving performance, and effects of classroom-related conditions on problem-solving performance. Problem solving related positively to measures of…

Reports a study to examine careless errors fifth-grade students (n=58) make while solving mathematical word problems and explores the type of student who frequently makes such errors. Results indicated that frequency of these errors was significantly related to the noncognitive variables of the study. Discusses implications for remediation. (20…

A University of Toronto pharmaceutics course which organizes information about physical chemistry around real problems, presented as case studies or laboratory projects, is described. Problems were addressed in class discussions or by unsupervised eight-student groups using self- and group evaluation procedures. Results are discussed, and three…

Describes five skills underpinning the understanding of geometry for primary and lower secondary mathematics students. Skill categories identified include (1) visual; (2) verbal; (3) drawing; (4) logical; and (5) application. Gives examples of skills appropriate for Van Hiele levels 1-3. (MDH)

Presents a series of four worksheets to develop students' perception of spatial relationships. The tasks require students to use cubes to build models and describe the models by representing the front, right, and top views on grid paper. Provides reproducible worksheets. (MDH)

In 1987, National Science Teachers Association commissioned the Search for Excellence in Biology Teaching Task Force. This article is a distillation of the task force report, highlighting the criteria for excellence in biology teaching, grades 7-12. The criteria for excellence are in five subsections: Goals, Criteria for Curriculum, Criteria for…

An age-dependent answer-selection sequence of answers on multiple-choice tests suggested by previous studies was supported using statistical rather than clinical means. Results with 2,810 students aged 88 months through 241 months given a reading comprehension test twice during a 5-month interval support the systematically connected age-dependent…

Proposes using student projects to show students how mathematics can be applied to their lives by using statistics. Students identify a topic of interest to them and their community, collect data, discuss the analyzed data in a written report, and present the reports at the local senior-citizen center. (MDH)

Presents activities to supplement lessons on length and mass measurement or as part of a unit on atoms or orders of magnitude. Provides a lesson plan using aluminum foil to estimate unit measures, calculate the foil's thickness, and do an atom count. (MDH)

Provides a brief explanation why instruction designed for use with the microcomputer can enhance students' understanding of the concept of function. Presents five lessons designed to help students develop a thorough understanding of functions and their uses, to encourage students to explore and verbalize mathematical ideas, and to assist in the…

Identified and classified solution strategies of (n=49) 10th-grade students who were presented with linear programming problems in a predominantly visual setting in the form of a computerized game. Visual strategies were developed more frequently than either algebraic or mixed strategies. Appendix includes questionnaires. (Contains 11 references.)…

Briefly explores the issue of conflict resolution (CR) in education; the introduction of CR into the public schools; and whether CR processes such as mediation meet the needs of nondominant groups. It also introduces several articles that discuss specific approaches to the development and implementation of CR programs in schools. (GLR)