Describes interactive games that can be used to encourage students to complete reading assignments, and gives suggestions for improving the usefulness of readings. The games emphasize instructional objectives including verbal fluency, recall of facts, perceiving important points, summarizing, heuristics, debating, and tutorial support. (LRW)

The article discusses the classic problem: "Given an equilateral triangle and a point P inside the triangle, what is the sum of the distances from P to the three sides?" The problem is used to illustrate the generative nature of problem-posing using the heuristic "What happens if...?" (PK)

Examines the deductive approach to error diagnosis for intelligent tutoring systems. Topics covered include the principles of the deductive approach to diagnosis; domain-specific heuristics to solve the problem of generalizing error patterns; and deductive diagnosis and the hypertext-based learning environment. (Contains 26 references.) (JLB)

Investigated problem-solving perseverance of (n=40) students in grades 6 and 10 while solving nonroutine number problems. Students who were ultimately successful were more inclined than others to be flexible in their use of strategies. (40 references) (Author/MKR)

Addresses NCTM recommendations regarding nonroutine problem solving. Illustrates general approaches, teacher discourse, and aims of problem solving via three nonroutine problems. Compares expert and novice approaches to problem solving and applies procedures endorsed by Polya regarding problem-solving strategies. Includes nine additional…

Examined children's use of the representativeness heuristic with two types of decision problems adapted from research with adults--standard representativeness problems and conjunction fallacy problems. Findings on both problems indicate the use of decision heuristics in the early grade-school years, and suggests these should be the years for…

Describes a university professor's project with prospective elementary teachers who read "Global Mind Change" (Willis Harmon), a book about postmodern science. The project included a content analysis of students' papers regarding students' ideas about the effective incorporation of philosophical and humanistic thinking into elementary…

Compares the practice of using drawings in story problems in Japan and the United States and includes recommendations for teachers in the United States. (Contains 14 references.) (MKR)

Suggests that individual differences in visual imagery and failure to realize their existence may have affected theories of thought throughout history. Offers possible explanations for the failure to validate thinking style differences in educationally significant ways. Argues that increased understanding of mental imagery can improve teaching.…

Presents three problems that help students develop a repertoire of heuristics and persistence in problem solving: the water-jug problem; the missionaries-and-cannibals problem; and the census-taker problem. Discusses methods to encourage students to persist. (MDH)

Discusses preliminary research on a new heuristic tool for learning from laboratory activities in secondary science. Finds that use of the science writing heuristic facilitated students in generating meaning from data; making connections among procedures, data, evidence, and claims; and engaging in metacognition. (Contains 29 references.)…

In this article, the author explores the evolution of the use of the triangle as a communication tool for describing positive behavior support (PBS) systems. The conceptual framework for the triangle used for PBS is credited to Walker et al. In that seminal work, the a model of school-based prevention strategies for children displaying antisocial…

In this article, the authors would like to look at a range of solutions submitted by Year 4-5 teams in the 2003 "Naturally Mathematical Challenge" to a question that involves no more than the numbers 1 to 6 and possible arrangements of them. In the context of other competition questions and in their elaboration of mathematical process,…

In this essay, Christopher Winch explores the relevance of Ludwig Wittgenstein's account of rule-following to vocational education with particular reference to the often-made claim that any account of an activity in terms of rule-following implies rigidity and inflexibility. He argues that most rule-following is only successful when it involves a…

The authors used an experimental design to compare the effectiveness of unstructured collaborative practice with individual practice on achievement on a complex well-structured problem-solving task. Participants included postsecondary students (N = 257) from a liberal arts college serving primarily nontraditional students and from 2 state…