This study evaluated the relative suitability of a range of base materials for producing tactile maps and diagrams via a new ink-jet process. The visually impaired and sighted participants tactilely scanned arrays of symbols that were printed on seven substrate materials, including paper, plastic, and aluminum. In general, the rougher substrates…

This Action Research Project is meant to investigate the effects of incorporating research-based instructional strategies into instruction and their subsequent effect on student achievement in the area of problem-solving. The two specific strategies utilized are the integration of manipulatives and increased social interaction on a regular basis.…

Responding to the concern from our faculty that undergraduate students do not have robust laboratory skills, we designed and implemented a strategy to individually teach and assess the manipulative skills of students in first-year laboratories. Five core laboratory skills were selected for the course entitled Human Biology, a large, first-year…

Judge Harry T. Roman, an electrical engineer and inventor, has selected the best of the crop in the 2006/2007 Tech Directions Inventors Award Competition. The challenge this year called on students to slow the filling of landfills by devising uses for discarded plastic water, juice, soda, and sports-drink bottles. Judge Roman noted "many common…

The basics of the metric system are explained, and the materials a teacher will need to instruct students in metrics are described. (JD)

Describes the work in one area (functions) of an experimental project in mathematics involving the same group of children from kindergarten through second grade. The project was undertaken chiefly to give mathematical continuity to activities that made use of manipulative aids. (BR)

Describes a series of action books containing cardboard cut-outs for children to use in enacting the story as it is read to them. Discusses the educational value of various features of these books. (JMB)

Simple, classroom-tested probability activities that capture students' interest, develop critical thinking skills, and reinforce addition facts are suggested. All activities involve investigating the probabilities of the sums that come up when two dice are tossed. (MT)