Three studies were conducted to examine the relation of spatial visualization to solving kinematics problems that involved either predicting the two-dimensional motion of an object, translating from one frame of reference to another, or interpreting kinematics graphs. In Study 1, 60 physics-naive students were administered kinematics problems and…

This article focuses on aspects of policy and provision for pupils with profound and multiple learning difficulties (PMLD) who attend special schools in England. The findings reported below are from a larger study, which aimed to answer the question: "Who Goes to SLD Schools in England?"

In this study we examined how two students viewed the general nature of their proportional reasoning errors as they attempted to generalize numeric situations. Using a teaching experiment methodology we studied the reasoning of two students over 18 instructional sessions. One student, Dallas, appeared to recognize that the proportional reasoning…

This study examined the effects of slowing down presentation of facial expressions and their corresponding vocal sounds on facial expression recognition and facial and/or vocal imitation in children with autism. Twelve autistic children and twenty-four normal control children were presented with emotional and non-emotional facial expressions on…

Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis is being used increasingly to examine the memory processes underlying recognition memory. The authors discuss the methodological issues involved in conducting and analyzing ROC results, describe the various models that have been developed to account for these results, review the behavioral empirical…

In this article, the author suggests ways to harness student enthusiasm to work. Have students compose letters inviting business leaders to visit and talk about their operations. Be specific and up-front in the letters to these business leaders that students would especially benefit from trying to solve real problems; and any such problems they…

Music copyright is one of the most complex areas of intellectual property law. To begin with, there is a copyright in notated music and a copyright in accompanying lyrics. When the piece is performed, there is a copyright in the performance that is separate and apart from the copyright in the underlying work. If a sound recording is used in…

The author believes that issues of behaviour in the mathematics classroom are intimately connected to views of mathematics and the learning of mathematics. Maths teachers' perspectives on classroom behaviour will be influenced by many factors, but one often neglected and highly significant factor will be their view of mathematics as a subject. In…

Synthesizing a decade of research, the author describes a taxonomy of meaningful learning. The most meaningful learning outcome is problem solving. In this taxonomy, four different kinds of problem solving are arranged in a hierarchical manner. Prerequisite/corequisite with problem-solving outcomes are two fundamental reasoning skills that…

Hungarian pediatrician Emmi Pikler theorized that freedom of movement facilitates infants' development and learning. The self-education promoted by freedom to move gives an infant a lasting view of herself as a competent learner. Pikler's approach also emphasizes the importance of helping each child feel respected and secure. The author examines…

When students design and build their own versions of instruments, they appreciate them more--and are more likely to appreciate how experimentation plays a critical role in explaining the world around them (NRC 1999). In this activity, students learn how science is done by becoming active participants. They use free lenses to build simple…

Knowing the mathematics relating to a problem is one thing, but producing a tool to solve a practical example is often daunting. This article describes a case study which presented an interesting implementational challenge.

This article looks at the question of whether and how a geometrical cube may be determined as the solution set of a single equation. Beyond this being an interesting and surprising result for upper high school and first year college students, we argue that, as an investigative activity, it has value in refining students' images of what solutions…

The mean and variance of some continuous distributions, in particular the exponentially decreasing probability distribution and the normal distribution, are considered. Since they involve integration by parts, many students do not feel comfortable. In this note, a technique is demonstrated for deriving mean and variance through differential…

Although research suggests why disability may cause poverty, it is not well understood why poverty may cause disability. This article presents the Poverty Disability Model, which includes four groups of factors that increase the risk that poverty will cause disability and chronic health problems. Rehabilitation interventions and counselor…