When text passages include seductive details (i.e., interesting, tangentially related adjuncts that are irrelevant to the lesson), students perform worse on recall (Garner, Gillingham, & White, 1989) and problem-solving tests (Harp & Mayer, 1997, 1998) than students reading the same material without seductive details. To determine whether…

In order to create an environment that encourages resiliency, care givers must first understand some of the specific attributes that make up the resilient child. While not intended as an exhaustive list, one could say that a resilient child will have an accurate self-awareness, possess effective problem-solving skills, be able to communicate well,…

While the scientific method is a logical, orderly way to solve a problem or answer a question, it is not a magical formula that is too complicated for nonscientists to comprehend (Keeton and Gould 1986). The scientific method may include a variety of steps, processes, and definitions. It should not be seen as a single series of steps, with no…

The article describes the harmonic mean and explores situations for using it. Activities that involve hands-on practice for students are provided. Students learn to recognize which mean, harmonic or arithmetic, is appropriate.

This note discusses some set equations, using set matrices, i.e. matrices whose entries are sets.

There are a plethora of variables which affect pupils in the classroom. These might involve the obvious such as uncomfortable temperature readings a well as the following: (1) small group work as compared to individual activities; (2) use of measurably stated objectives versus constructivism as psychologies of learning; (3) a very quiet…

Rapid technological advances in the areas of telecommunications, computer technology and the Internet have made available to tutors and learners in the domain of online learning, a broad array of tools that provide the possibility to facilitate and enhance learning to higher levels of critical reflective thinking. Computer mediated communication…

The International Polar Year-Research and Educational Opportunities in Antarctica for Minorities (IPY-ROAM) program was designed to increase minority participation in polar science by immersing participants in an academic program that included a trip to Antarctica. The IPY-ROAM program was focused on increasing public understanding of the polar…

Classroom video excerpts are often used to help preservice and practicing teachers explore students' mathematical ideas. This article describes several types of video clips that the authors have found to be particularly productive for this purpose. The authors also discuss three dimensions that can be used to characterize the student thinking…

In the last column we focused (as a primary goal of instruction) on the importance of teaching so that students learn to think their way into and through content. We stressed the need for well-designed daily structures and tactics for fostering deep learning, offering three strategies as examples. In this column, we provide four additional…

Iranian educational methods and our own observations of physics students led us to devise a way of improving our students' ability to solve real-life problems. We designed a guided inquiry-based course "Physics by photography" which we implemented for approximately 250 students. This revealed that this type of course could motivate…

In this note we develop a framework that makes explicit the inherent dynamic structure of certain mathematical definitions by means of the four facets of context-entity-process-object. These facets and their interrelations are then used to capture and interpret specific aspects of student constructions of the concept of solution to first order…

Clinical research in expressive therapies, psychodrama in particular, offer education researchers and software designers descriptive analyses and evidence-based impact studies on attitudinal shifts and enhanced problem solving abilities for patients and students who participate in psychodrama role-play. Gaming environments and virtual worlds that…

Are new approaches to transforming undergraduate learning in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) making a difference? If so, how? How do people know? And what next? These are the questions explored in a 1999 report from Project Kaleidoscope, which concluded by making predictions and recommendations for the coming decade. Now…

Encouraging children to think--independently and publicly--is possibly one of any teachers' most challenging and rewarding responsibilities. Young children's less-developed language and listening skills further complicate teachers' work at the early elementary level. Yet, the author has been fortunate to work with many teachers who have embraced…