A study of 114 full-time, tenured or tenure-track faculty of history, psychology, mathematics, and biology investigated the relationship between scholarly productivity and 4 norms of teaching. It was found that faculty recognize and acknowledge norms that support teaching, while simultaneously participating in expected research activities. In…

Describes five activities using the World Wide Web that teach students to experience searching, locating, and organizing data. Students learn to summarize statistics, analyze data, make conjectures, and communicate information. They interpret or create bar graphs, line graphs, histograms, and circle graphs. (PVD)

Item responses of 2,380 mathematically talented junior high school students (1,437 males and 943 females) were studied to determine gender differences, using the mathematical sections of the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT-M). Girls excelled on miscellaneous items and data sufficiency items but performed less well on algebra items than boys. (SLD)

Current thinking of researchers from different disciplines about interaction among students in educational settings and the potential of peer interaction for learning and cognitive development is discussed. Topics of the eight papers presented include: potential outcomes of peer interaction, its nature, peer learning settings, and factors shaping…

Describes a series of eight project activities designed to increase student communication and assess student understanding during a unit on functions and relations. Discusses different methods of evaluation and students' reactions to the activities. (MDH)

Reports a college-school project that examined the effects of thematically integrated mathematics instruction on Mexican American middle school students' mathematics achievement, attitudes, and motivation. Students receiving thematic instruction surpassed traditionally instructed students on mathematics concepts and applications. The two programs…

Discusses what a portfolio is and presents reasons for using portfolios to assess students' mathematical progress, along with tips for introducing, using, and assessing portfolios. Includes examples of student work and guidelines for portfolio entries. (MKR)

Presents five activities to help students construct meaning for multiplying fractions through real-world problem contexts, physical or pictorial models, the recognition of patterns, and the use of calculators. In the context of a garden plot, worksheets examine various aspects of parts of plots, patterns in plots, and a maximization problem.…

Reports development and results of the Kramer Project, a two-year study of the implementation of a problem-solving, activity-based mathematics program in the elementary grades. Describes the mathematical content covered, participating teachers, instructional materials employed, inservice teacher training provided, and academic achievement gains of…

Presents a unit of study involving tangrams that integrates geometric relationships, scale drawings, graphing, patterns, and logical thinking. Provides worksheets for independent and cooperative activities to discover geometric shapes using a specified number of tangram pieces. (MDH)

Describes 4 activities for levels K-2, 3-5, 4-6, and 6-8 and a family activity that asks students to describe their community; use coordinates to represent the 4 voyages of Columbus; write a story based on a line graph of Lewis and Clark's expedition; determine serving sizes for astronauts in space; and investigate different modes of…

Describes the use and rationale of "Silent Teaching," a teaching technique in which the teacher remains silent as students generate and evaluate hypotheses while trying to understand an as-yet undiscovered concept. (MDH)

Reports a case study to evaluate whether basic concepts of fractal geometry are teachable to elementary school children and to determine the effectiveness of having an elementary school student present a lesson to inservice and preservice teachers. Concludes that simple concepts of fractal geometry appear appropriate for the elementary school…

Describes the "number 2 arithmetic challenge," an activity in which students score points by creating examples using the number 2 that satisfy an unknown rule. Computers are utilized to verify and record examples. Conflicts with computer responses create situations to explore negative numbers, fractions, mixed numbers, the order of…

Proposes the method of student-generated story problems to supplement textbook problems, generate student interest, and bring real-life situations into the mathematics classroom. Gives steps to initiate the method that incorporates small groups and peer teaching to develop problem-solving and problem-posing abilities. (MDH)