Each of the primary problems described in this article encourage children to "get into" the process of problem solving, and all can be introduced without written instructions. A demonstration by the teacher with large hands-on materials can involve all the children effectively and give him/her the opportunity to highlight key points and deal with…

Classical physics has a long history of using demonstrations and experiments to develop ideas in introductory courses. The purpose of this exploration is to examine the effectiveness of a desk-top activity for helping students develop abstract reasoning. In the pilot exploration, students in three laboratory sections of a single physics course…

"Progress in Mathematics[C] 2006" is a new core curriculum for students in kindergarten through grade 6. "Progress in Mathematics[C] 2006" differs substantively from "Progress in Mathematics[C] 2000" in both content and assessment material. "Progress in Mathematics[C] 2006" uses a sequence of systematic…

Collaborative action research partnerships create rich opportunities for the professional development of teachers and classroom reform. This paper reports results from two action research projects. The first was a collaboration between the author and a seventh-grade mathematics teacher who wanted to change his mathematics teaching in an effort to…

The purpose of this book is to provide a framework for parents to use in tutoring their children in mathematics. Among the suggestions to parents are to be patient, employ a variety of strategies, break up learning into blocks of time, and integrate learning into everyday life so that realistic connections between academic concepts and the real…

This 20-minute videotape is designed to help parents understand why mathematics teaching has changed, how it will benefit children, and what they (parents) can do to help. The tape shows adult recollections of their experiences in mathematics classrooms, elementary mathematics classroom vignettes, and adult workers who use mathematics in their…

This study investigated how middle grades students provided with free access to manipulative materials use these mathematical tools in classrooms where their teachers are identified as Control-Oriented and Autonomy-Oriented. Also of interest in this investigation was how Control-Oriented and Autonomy-Oriented teachers administered the free access…

Counting books offer children the time and the tools to develop the understanding needed to solve problems. Stimulated by these books, children may use mathematic language and talk about mathematics as they get involved with materials to move and manipulate, as they use supportive aids found in illustrations, and as they interact with materials to…

Through a series of puzzles involving many geometric Objects,

A problem solving approach to the teaching of the Pythagorean Theorem is described. (SD)

In the experiment discussed, three modes of presenting materials to second grade students were compared. Data analysis showed that the abstract mode was less successful than the others, but there was no clear difference between the manipulative and pictorial modes. (SD)

The author describes a model for operations on the set of rationals. Thi s model, used by students in a laboratory situation, is based on an easily constructed number balance. (SD)

Meaningful educational activities and cognitive tools might improve students' active involvements in the teaching-learning process and encourage their reflections on the concepts and relations to be investigated. It is claimed that usage of manipulatives not only increase students' conceptual understanding and problem solving skills but also…

This paper examines two major questions regarding the use of manipulatives in teaching and learning mathematics in the elementary school. First, what does recent research indicate about this topic? It was found that research predominately favors the use of manipulatives with strong support for the use of appropriate kinds of manipulatives for the…