In child-centered education programs, children construct their own knowledge from their experiences and interactions with the world around them, and teachers foster children's growth and development by building on children's interests, needs, and strengths within a safe and caring environment. The Step by Step educational program developed a…

The conception of mathematics anxiety held by a teacher may have a great deal to do with the way in which mathematics is characterized in classroom teaching. The purpose of this study is to determine if fourth-grade students' mathematics anxiety can be decreased by a change in implementing new instructional strategies. The study employed a…

Presents an activity in which students collect and organize data from a real-world simulation of the scientific concept of half life. Students collect data using a marble sifter, analyze the data using a graphing calculator, and determine an appropriate mathematical model. Includes reproducible worksheets. (MDH)

Highlights combinatorial problems appropriate for students aged 4 to 12 years that utilize manipulatives in a hands-on approach. Examines and identifies students' strategies and self-monitoring techniques that produce effective problem solving. (MDH)

This article describes an approach to teaching linear equations using multiple representations in a highly motivating context. Connections among representations are made explicit to enhance understanding and empower students. (Contains 4 figures.)

This short booklet describes Montessori preschool methods, materials, and environments. The booklet provides background on Maria Montessori and highlights her commitment to facilitating the self-creating process of the child. Preschool years are described as being critical in that they are the peak of children's ability to absorb all that is going…

This short booklet describes Montessori elementary education methods, materials, and environments. The booklet discusses 6-year-olds as inquisitive individuals seeking to make sense of their existence and experiences. It also presents a cosmic educational perspective which emphasizes a global world view. Storytelling is discussed as a way to…

This series of journals includes volumes 1-4 of "Growing Ideas," a journal of garden-based learning. Each issue provides instructional ideas, horticultural information and a forum for exchange among teachers using classroom gardening to stimulate learning. Ideas in each issue are separated into three sections. The "Green Tips"…

This report describes the development and evaluation of mathematics activities manuals for grades K-8, correlated with the Tennessee state mathematics curriculum. Seventeen elementary teachers and seven secondary teachers met during January-June 1989 to write draft versions of the manuals and demonstrate activity-based mathematics and…

A practicum tested the effectiveness of a learning-center approach in improving the overall academic achievement of kindergarten children who were speakers learners of English as a second language (ESL). The entire kindergarten class participated in the method, but only nine students were selected on the basis of their score on the Brigance Test.…

This issue of the UNESCO Nutrition Education Series presents a sampling of ideas for teaching aids created from experiences in developing countries and is representative of materials currently Being compiled for Volume IV of the UNESCO Resource Pack for Nutrition Teaching-Learning, "Easy to Make Teaching Aids for Nutrition Teaching-Learning." The…

The Middle Grades Mathematics Project (MGMP) has been an effort to produce exemplary mathematics curriculum units for grades six, seven, and eight, evaluate the compatibility of those units in classrooms, and to study the nature of the effort needed to help teachers to teach the units effectively in their classrooms. Each activity designed by MGMP…

This is the fifth in a series of publications to help teachers use a mathematics laboratory approach in the elementary school. It provides 64 activities, developed by teachers and field-tested in classrooms. It is designed to be used with any basic mathematics program, as a stimulant to encourage teachers to use their imagination to develop…

This paper is a summary of much of the available research on college science laboratory instruction of the past decade with a focus on the effects of specific laboratory teaching strategies upon student learning outcomes. Some tentative interpretations from a review of the literature found are: (1) inquiry or investigative approaches in college…

The learning difficulties that students experience with fractions begin immediately when they are shown fraction symbols with one numeral written above the other and told that the "top number" is called the numerator and the "bottom number" is called the denominator. This introduction to fractions will usually include a few visual diagrams to help…