A descriptive, holistic, multiple-case methodology was applied to examine the nature of participation in discourse of two low- and two high-achieving grade 6 students while solving mathematical tasks in a standards-based classroom. Data collected via classroom observations and student interviews were analyzed through a multiple-cycle coding…

Describes a program designed by a practicing inventor to systematically teach gifted and talented elementary school students how to be inventive. Examples of typical student inventions and an appendix listing steps or keys in inventing are included. (Author/RH)

Identifies kinds of thinking that fit naturally into elementary social studies curricula, using models of thinking that are not complex. Models include general problem solving skills and skills pertaining to specific types of intellectual tasks, such as comprehending information, solving specific problems, researching topics, and making decisions.…

Documents the different problem-solving styles and approaches of two first-grade children having strong mathematical abilities. One child demonstrated an extrinsic, algorithmic style of problem-solving, while the other used an intrinsic, individual-in-control style. (NH)

Describes the history and current issues of curriculum, instruction, and evaluation in elementary social studies. Emphasizes teaching for understanding and higher-order applications. Concludes that higher-order goals of social studies instruction are comparable to those in other subjects. (BB)

Suggests that children enter school with a great deal of informal intuitive knowledge of mathematics that can serve as the basis for developing much of the formal mathematics of the primary school curriculum. Describes a research-based model of children's thinking that teachers can use to interpret, transform, and reframe their informal or…