Teaching critical thinking, a relatively new area and concept in physical education, can take the form of problem solving--the development and presentation of physical and mental problems that challenge students to reach a solution. Providing students with conceptually well-defined and designed problems can give physical education teachers an…

Out of the school reform movement of the eighties have come recommendations for professional development schools, site-based management, and teacher empowerment. Such initiatives can be implemented only in environments where continuing pursuit of new knowledge exists at every level. There is a pressing need for educational models that strive to…

Principles of science and art are found in all phases of daily life. This book helps teachers and students in grades 7 and 8 discover specific scientific information as they experience "making pottery" using Native American pottery techniques. Lessons are built upon discover techniques--observation followed by conclusion--and begin with…

Outdoor education provides a setting in which students learn to discover things for themselves and should be an integral part of school curriculum. Beginning as soon as students and teachers step beyond the classroom, outdoor education employs methods of observation/discovery, research, and reflection. Small group instruction allowing full use of…

In the teaching of a science concept, it is important for the teacher to arouse the student's curiosity. Once curiosity is aroused, the students will learn much more on their own than the teacher can ever teach them. The use of discrepant events in the teaching of science is one of the best methods to arouse this curiosity. This book is a…

This book describes a 5-day program of imaginative activities designed to help elementary school children learn how their world functions through seeing, smelling, tasting, touching, and hearing. The book is designed to help children understand energy flow, the cycles of basic materials, the diversity of life, natural communities, change,…

This book focuses on science teaching at the elementary school level. It includes chapters dealing with various science content areas and teaching processes including: (1) what is science; (2) why teach science; (3) process skills as a foundation for unit and lesson planning; (4) how to plan learning units, daily lessons, and assessment…

Divided into six sections, the guide provides helpful information for the teacher to prepare students to attend the Orange County Outdoor School. Pre-camp responsibilities section provides pre-camp preparation checklists for the principal, teacher, parents, school nurse, and outdoor specialist; a checklist for morning departure; discipline policy…

This paper describes a classroom teaching experiment conducted in three fifth-grade mathematics classrooms with students of different achievement levels. Virtual fraction manipulative concept tutorials were used in three one-hour class sessions to investigate the learning characteristics afforded by these technology tools. The virtual fraction…

This study investigated the influence of two different instructional approaches on 298 elementary school students. Two four-week units were taught, the first on movement education and fundamental movement skills, and the second on gymnastics. Two treatment groups were randomly selected, and classes were conducted by six experienced teachers who…

Eight activity packages, designed to teach students mathematical topics which are inappropriate to teach through a paper and pencil approach, are presented. The materials were created so that students: (1) can follow the instructions with little supervision; (2) are physically engaged in the activity, either measuring, counting, drawing pictures…

This guide outlines an Option X course on problem solving techniques. The 16 learner objectives identified in the Mathematics Program Guide stress applications orientation to concepts about numbers and operations and common plane and solid figures. Techniques covered include working with diagrams, organizing information, using patterns,…

Problem solving is viewed as an ability required throughout life, and how we function is seen to be directly related to how well we solve problems. In this document, the issue of a steady decline in students' abilities in the area of mathematical problem solving is confronted and a program designed to teach students the necessary skills in this…

The Discovery-Expository Instrument is a classroom observation scale which measures the position of a teacher's presentation on a continuum of discovery presentation (in which the student is encouraged to solve problems with minimal help from the teacher), to expository presentation (in which the teacher provides a complete description and…

The paper discusses the use of music-based experiments to illuminate teachers' understanding of their own and pupils' informal ways of learning. The major objective of the paper is to help teachers understand students' learning processes. Because one central problem in academic research is that of finding the right questions, researchers should…