Focuses on stage three of the Big6 process for teaching information problem solving--location and access. This stage has two components: locate sources and find information within sources. Highlights include the concept of index, keyword search strategy, and Boolean searching. (AEF)

Explores the need for teachers and students to ask critical and reflective questions concerning the mediated experiences they receive in school as part of the official curriculum. Discusses mediated experiences as representations; the nonneutrality of media and the technologies of storage and delivery; the falsity of notions surrounding the…

Investigated the effects of student working-memory capacity, preference for amount of instruction, spatial problem-solving ability, and school mathematics grades on eighth graders' recall of factual information and conceptual understanding. Pairs of students worked through 16 activities using a dynamic, computer-based geometry program. Presents…

Unique associations between three families of mathematical knowledge and individual differences in the mathematics skills of 103 seventh and eighth graders were studied. Conceptual and procedural knowledge adequately explained individual differences in fraction solving and problem set-up accuracy, but only conceptual knowledge adequately expressed…

A videotape series produced by the Annenberg/CPB Math and Science Collection demonstrates college and secondary students' misconceptions about everyday phenomena and advocates teaching for understanding. Third International Science and Mathematic Study data show American and German teachers' interest in procedures and algorithms, compared with…

In literature on problem-based learning (PBL), it is often difficult to determine whether the educational approach being described is actually PBL. Provides planners and assessors of PBL curricula with a framework for analysis. Educational activities can be categorized as PBL according to three core principles and four criteria concerning their…

Examines the relationship of microcomputer simulation graphics and alphanumeric modes of data presentation to ninth-grade biology students' science process skills and conceptual understanding of selected science topics (N=64). Concludes that use of microcomputers and appropriate software can result in significant learning and understanding of…

Examines the mathematical sense-making of eighth-grade students as they use physical devices to learn about linear functions. Suggests the concept of transparency as an index of access to knowledge and activities rather than as an inherent feature of objects. Concludes that transparency is a process mediated by unfolding activities and users'…

Draws on contemporary sources to provide strategies for cultivating self-discipline. Advocates self-healing for the adult to be free from destructive attitudes and personal history that can keep adults from being mindful of the child's needs, perspective, and potential. Concludes with ways to facilitate a truly Montessori approach to discipline.…

Presents sample lab activities in algebra for representing functions in concrete, tabular, graphic, algebraic, and word format. Activities described actively involve students in hands-on models. Problem-solving techniques and technology help to form algebraic-thinking skills. (AIM)

Develops and validates an instrument for determining student preferences for multiple representations of functions and establishes baseline data for future research. Students showed preferences for representations of functions which varied between contextualized and noncontextualized settings. Students' preferences for the two settings were more…

Reviews some of the basic tenets of critical thinking as it applies to social studies, especially those articulated in Roland Case's and Ian Wright's article, "Taking Seriously the Teaching of Critical Thinking." Praises the article but suggests that it would be improved by tightening the central focus. (MJP)

Describes two classroom activities that introduce critical-thinking skills into social studies instruction. One is a debate, followed by position papers, on the contribution of Christopher Columbus. The other is a simulation of a Constitutional Amendment conference. Discusses which parts of the lessons specifically focus on critical-thinking…

Picture books, showing young characters' struggles to control their anger and cope under stress, are cornerstones of the East Side San Jose Schools' Leadership through Ethical Action and Development (LEAD) program. Sponsored by the Markkula Center, LEAD enrolls 11 university student leaders who share their knowledge of ethical behavior with…

Explores the use of metaphors as problem-solving mechanisms by novice searchers of bibliographic databases. Subjects were 28 undergraduate students at the University of Technology, Sydney, Australia, who "talked through" a search on a bibliographic retrieval system. A range of metaphors was apparent from the language used by students.…