FAST I (Foundational Approach to Science Teaching I) is an inquiry and inductive-reasoning approach to learning physical science, ecology, and relational study. The program was successfully adapted for middle school students with mild disabilities. Teacher preparation, classroom groupings, behavior management procedures, evaluation, and…

Describes teaching methods employed in German elementary school classrooms that develop discovery, creativity, and a spirit of cooperation in students learning mathematics. Methods included free choice of learning activities by students and small group cooperative activities. Students' motivation, self-confidence, social and communications skills,…

Explains why teachers might feel uneasy about the apparent lessening of their crucial position at the front of the class when a learner-centered model is used. Attempts to show how teacher ego is not incompatible with different teacher roles; acceptance of a predilection for performance may be the first stage in a richer description of teacher…

A "driver's license" at one suburban Minnesota high school is a free round-trip ticket to the world. The Internet allows students to stroll through the Louvre, tour the White House, or examine current satellite weather photos at NASA's computer center. Students are developing friendships, exploring different cultures, and learning…

Demonstrates how the uniqueness and anonymity of a student's Social Security number can be utilized to create individualized polynomial equations that students can investigate using computers or graphing calculators. Students write reports of their efforts to find and classify all real roots of their equation. (MDH)

Describes the construction of durable, inexpensive and large sand-hourglasses for use in controlled experiments that allow students to observe, infer, measure, record data, and predict. This hands-on activity is designed to take place over a three-day interval. Includes materials needed, techniques, procedures, follow-up activities, and resource…

Describes examples of student-centered activities for exploring mathematical induction using BASIC programs or spreadsheets. Discusses the advantages of using this medium to teach the concept and provides computer programs for the activities. (MDH)

Describes the ways in which primary grade science teachers can use hands-on scientific activities to answer children's questions about science. In such activities, children discover and experiment with materials and objects to understand scientific ideas and processes. Suggests that teachers should encourage children's curiosity. (BB)

Challenged is the traditional model for the transmission of mathematics in the elementary school classroom. An inquiry approach to learning mathematics is proposed and supported with results of a year long research project that exposed second graders to mathematical learning experiences using this approach. (MDH)

The focus of this article is patterns and pattern making using geometric figures. Included are sequentially planned activities for K-8 students that help them first to discover the attributes of various figures and later how to combine these figures into patterns. Finally, this information is applied to real world activities such as quilting and…

Describes discovery learning, a teaching method that encourages students to use inductive reasoning. Students explore and experiment using the skill or idea being taught; they determine rules, make generalizations, and discover concepts. The teacher acts as coach, advisor, and reinforcer. A student page offers a discovery learning game on capital…

Presented are three methods to enrich the mathematics classroom. The first introduces an activity allowing students to discover the law of sines. The second gives eight distance-rate-time problems of value for their counterintuitive or elegant solutions. The third poses multiple answer questions that promote student interaction and communication.…

Presented is a teacher's guide for a hands-on activity challenging students to develop problem-solving behaviors by exploring the construction of a right-cylinder of maximum volume from an m x n sheet of metal. Reproducible worksheets leading students through the activity are provided. (MDH)

Discusses Joseph Schwab, a reformer who worked on the Biological Science Curriculum Study (BSCS), noting how BSCS texts implemented his ideas, and the reformer Gerald Holton's ideas, arguing for a science curriculum that includes social dimensions, attitudes associated with inquiry, and processes employed to construct scientific knowledge. (SM)

Using distance education to develop management metacompetencies such as creativity, flexibility, and resourcefulness encounters problems in terms of learner vulnerability, learning style, structural dysfunctions, and "reality" methods. A combination of distance learning, discovery learning, and competency-based simulation may address these…