Despite recent investments in and rapid modernization of university campuses in places like Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, higher education in the Middle East still faces many obstacles. One of the greatest has been a fundamental disconnect between education and employment, a possible factor contributing to many of the recent riots in the Arab World. In…

Within the Response-to-Intervention framework, students who fail to profit from high-quality general education instruction, accommodations, and supplemental instruction progress to a more intensive intervention program, sometimes referred to as "Tier III." This article describes a problem-solving approach to designing such intensive, data-based,…

In recent years, the response to intervention (RTI) model has not only gained popularity as an alternate approach to identifying students with learning disabilities but also offered general education teachers a framework for problem solving at the classroom level. The model emphasizes ongoing progress monitoring of student performance to make…

A growing number of children are entering kindergarten without the skills that enable them to be successful in an academic setting. However, it is not children's cognitive skills that concern educators; it is their social and emotional skill deficits that are most troublesome. This article discusses how family and community risk factors can…

This paper describes a forensic science simulation programme applicable for use in colleges. Students were asked to find a putative suspect by DNA fingerprinting using a simple protocol developed in this study. DNA samples were obtained from a hair root and a drop of blood, common sources of DNA in forensic science. The DNA fingerprinting protocol…

Problem solving is an essential skill for undergraduate chemists to acquire. Many problem solving activities encountered on undergraduate programmes are algorithmic, and require lower order cognitive skills to be applied in order to reach a solution. We have developed a number of open-ended problems that use a real life context and require the…

Energy is a critical concept in physics problem-solving but is often a major source of confusion for students if the presentation is not carefully crafted by the instructor or the textbook. The first article in this series discussed student confusion generated by traditional treatments of work. In any discussion of work, it is important to state…

It's a situation every avid cyclist knows only too well. If you cycle up a hill and then back down with no net change in elevation, it seems as if your slower uphill speed and faster downhill speed should offset each other. But they don't. Your average speed is less than it would have been had you cycled the same distance on a level road.…

Energy concepts are fundamentally important for describing and analyzing systems ranging from subatomic particles to spiral galaxies. In general, students first encounter such concepts in introductory courses that typically focus on forms of energy, energy transfer, and conservation laws. Within these courses, conservation of mechanical energy is…

A number of well-known hydrostatics problems dealing with Archimedes' principle concern a loaded boat floating in a pool. Examples of this sort of problem include: 1. (a) If a stone is thrown overboard from a boat floating in a pool, does the water level in the pool rise, fall, or remain unchanged? (b) If a hole is made in the bottom of the boat…

The "National Standards for Physical Education" (National Association for Sport and Physical Education [NASPE], 2004) provides, at each grade level, sample performance outcomes that identify students' progress toward achieving each standard. Many of the performance outcomes indicated for standard one identify movement competency in gymnastics as a…

This article presents a hands-on experiment that covers many areas of high school mathematics. Included are the notions of patterns, proof, triangular numbers and various aspects of problem solving. The problem involves the arrangements of a school of fish using split peas or buttons to represent the fish. (Contains 4 figures.)

A complex technology-based problem in visualization and computation for students in calculus is presented. Strategies are shown for its solution and the opportunities for students to put together sequences of concepts and skills to build for success are highlighted. The problem itself involves placing an object under water in order to actually see…

We solve two problems that arise when constructing picture frames using only a table saw. First, to cut a cove running the length of a board (given the width of the cove and the angle the cove makes with the face of the board) we calculate the height of the blade and the angle the board should be turned as it is passed over the blade. Second, to…

The purpose of this article is to describe a player-centered approach (PCA), highlighting its qualities, and then to provide examples of its application in coaching and teaching sport. Most of the examples relate to the game of volleyball, but many of the recommendations and examples can be applied to most team sports. The article will conclude…