This practice guide presents five recommendations intended to help educators improve students' understanding of, and problem-solving success with, fractions. Recommendations progress from proposals for how to build rudimentary understanding of fractions in young children; to ideas for helping older children understand the meaning of fractions and…

Researchers suggest that teachers should place greater emphasis on the qualitative understanding of the procedures involved in mathematical problem-solving. Administrators can advise teachers to encourage students and show them how to be more thorough in analyzing problems. (MLF)

This study was designed to investigate whether the implementation and integration of the use of the Explorer Calculator into the curriculum influenced students in grades three through six. The sample consisted of approximately 440 students who were assigned to the treatment group or the control group. Achievement scores from the Iowa Test of Basic…

An administrator's first year as an elementary school principal provided unexpected problems that could not be solved by applying clearcut rules or logical thinking. Among the problem areas were student and staff discipline, relations with parents and the PTA, and teacher evaluation. (PGD)

Data are presented for problem-solving content of selected elementary school mathematics textbooks and problem-solving achievement for students in Iowa for grades 4-6 for selected years between 1955 and 1985. Relationships between textbook content and student achievement are considered. (RH)

Asserts that students need opportunities to solve problems by making concept connections from many disciplines. Integrating mathematics and social studies can help. Includes 20 class activities and a chart recommending which grade levels are most appropriate for each activity. (CFR)

A number of recent reports have called for increased teaching of "problem solving" and "critical thinking," particularly at the elementary level. This paper provides descriptive and evaluative data on a 9-month inservice program in mathematics for 89 elementary school teachers and 6 elementary school principals from 22 different schools. The…

To address the problem of increasing professional isolation of building administrators, the Principals' Inservice Project helps establish principals' collegial support groups across the nation. The groups are typically composed of 6 to 10 principals who meet at least once each month over a 2-year period. One collegial support group of seven…

This study of the composition and operation of both "top down" and "participative" school management teams in 18 Israeli elementary schools considers (1) how management teams are organized, solve problems, and make decisions; and (2) how the operation of the management team influences school effectiveness. No relationship…

This report describes an experiment to provide an inservice program involving problem solving and inquiry, in line with the new Scottish National Guidelines in mathematics, that would have a lasting effect on teachers. The program featured two stages: (1) In the first year teachers were involved in a pair of workshops, were visited at their…

The following topics and objectives are presented as essential for teachers, principals, and supervisors to study in working towards a modern elementary social studies curriculum: (1) objectives in the social studies; (2) trends in the social studies; (3) scope and sequence; (4) materials used in teaching; (5) readiness in learning; (6) number of…

The Invent America program addresses the need to provide K-8 students with opportunities to learn critical and creative thinking skills through the process of inventing. Students apply problem-solving skills as they turn their own creative ideas into inventions. It is an effort to integrate the curriculum, help students synthesize knowledge, and…

The purposes of this paper are: (1) to investigate the effects of SQUARE ONE TV on children's problem-solving behavior and their attitudes toward mathematics and (2) to indicate some connections between the result and the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM)'s Curriculum and Evaluation Standards for School Mathematics. This paper…

The Invent America program addresses the need to provide K-8 students with opportunities to learn critical and creative thinking skills through the process of inventing. Students apply problem-solving skills as they turn their own creative ideas into inventions. It is an effort to integrate the curriculum, help students synthesize knowledge, and…

The Invent America program addresses the need to provide K-8 students with opportunities to learn critical and creative thinking skills through the process of inventing. Students apply problem-solving skills as they turn their own creative ideas into inventions. It is an effort to integrate the curriculum, help students synthesize knowledge, and…