The conditions under which explicit instruction in checking, combined with worked examples, may be beneficial in learning how to translate sentences into algebraic equations was examined from the perspective of cognitive load theory. In two experiments it was shown that Grade 8 and 9 students were initially disadvantaged by the inclusion of a…

The purpose of this exploratory study was to investigate the impact of writing during mathematical problem solving. The study involved an analysis of ninth grade algebra students' written and verbal descriptions of their mathematical problem solving processes. Through this comparison, a better understanding of the connection between problem…

The What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) reviewed interventions to promote middle school students' math knowledge and skills. Because there is some variation in how school districts organize middle school, we considered curricula aimed at students in grades 6 through 9, covering one or more of the following content areas: numbers and operations,…

The purpose of this research is to compare American and Albanian students' achievement in Algebra 1 and to identify the educational practices that influence students' achievement in each country. The study compared algebraic solving abilities of 242 ninth-grade American students in Grand Forks (U.S.) and 219 students in Durres (Albania). The data…

This case study involved year 9 students carrying out project work in biology via problem-based learning. The purpose of the study was to (a) find out how students approach and work through ill-structured problems, (b) identify some issues and challenges related to the use of such problems, and (c) offer some practical suggestions on the…

In this article, the author describes a week of "timely" open-ended lessons with a high ability Y9 group of boys. He gives lessons that would give the students some sense of purpose, as they try to generate a mathematical entity to represent something they used regularly. He states that understanding metric time is something his students…

This study examines the effects of teaching Linkage and Problem Translating Skills on students' problem-solving performance and their learning of the five cognitive variables namely, Concept Relatedness, Idea Association, Problem Translating Skill, Non-Specific but Relevant Knowledge and Specific Knowledge. Seventy three Grade 9 (Secondary 3)…

The "I CAN Learn[R] Mathematics Curriculum" is designed to help ethnically diverse, inner-city students in grades 7 through 10 achieve parity in mathematics and problem-solving skills. It uses an interactive software program to teach pre-algebra and algebra. The "I CAN Learn[R] Algebra 1" course, which was used in all of the…

This study proposes an empirical classification of ways to introduce elements of the history of science into science teaching, as well as describing a special way to do so characterized by the introduction of short extracts from historical texts. The aim is to motivate students to participate in problem-solving activities and to transform their…

This study tested a model of teacher interventions (TIs) conducted during cooperative learning to examine how they affected students' subsequent time on-task (TOT) and problem solving. TIs involved groups of ninth-grade students working on an algebra problem; videotaped lessons were transcribed and analyzed. Results showed that teachers initiated…

This study compares two E-learning environments: E-learning supported with IMPROVE self-metacognitive questioning (EL+IMP), and E-learning without explicit support of self-regulation (EL). The effects were compared between mathematical problem-solving and self-regulated learning (SRL). Participants were 65 ninth-grade students who studied linear…

165 students, from the fifth, seventh and ninth grades were asked to solve written problems involving fractions. In the problems a reference quantity (RQ) was multiplied by a fraction (FR), yielding the value of a compared quantity (CQ). The fraction expressed either an part-whole ratio (PW), or a part-part ratio (PP). Six type of problems were…

"Saxon Math" curricula and materials are available for grades K through 12, with the content and skills designed to meet National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) standards and various state standards. This WWC report focuses on middle school math curricula, defined as all Saxon Math curricula for grades 6 through 9. The…

A weak negative attitude towards learning science was noticed among the students in Qatar, a matter that was reflected on their achievement in national tests. To test if the use of PBL would improve the students' attitudes towards learning science, a sample of 25 nine graders from Hamza school were motivated to plan their own investigations and to…

The Invisible Wall Project analyzes problem-solving processes of children in Grades 3 and 4 and Grades 8 and 9. The central idea of the research is to use sets of tasks that are all unsolvable, which means they have a goal that cannot be reached. The unsolvability, however, is of a kind that can be understood even by younger children. In our case,…