Fifteen mentally retarded students (8-11 years old) who participated in interpersonal problem solving skills training that focused on such areas as language, cue sensitivity, empathy, and integrating skills demonstrated a significant increase in interpersonal problem solving behavior compared to a control group. (CL)

The article offers examples from two publications (supported by the U.S. Office of Education) with more than 200 problems suitable for use in elementary methematics curriculums for gifted students. Three activities are outlined in terms of the problem, a hint for solving the problem, and the solution. (SW)

Diagnostic problem solving was examined in 36 hyperactive, 36 normal, and 25 nonhyperactive reading disabled boys from grades two through six. On a matrix solution task, hyperactives used less efficient questions and strategies than the other two groups, despite the task being designed to maximize performance of hyperactives. (Author/SW)

Suggests using games to teach students how to ask effective questions. Games include "I've Got a Secret,""What's My Career,""To Tell the Truth,""Jeopardy,""Stump the Teacher,""Ten Q," and "Question Circle." (KC)

Suggests that (1) classroom analysis of good children's literature can facilitate effective problem-solving skills; and (2) consideration of the metamessage of cooperation as well as the individualistic perspective in such analyses is worth the time and effort. Notes that there are award-winning books that speak to the consequences of both…

Presents annotations of about 30 children's books focusing on visual creativity, creative expression, creative response, creative inquiry, creating a vision, and creative problem solving. Features books that focus on creativity, imagination, and innovation. (SG)

Many K-6 teachers and students still think of mathematics as a totally separate subject from literacy. Yet incorporating math content into the language arts block helps students gain skills for reading many kinds of texts. Bringing reading, writing, and talking into the math classroom supports the development of conceptual knowledge and problem…

This book contains "math mind benders," puzzles that are worked like crossword puzzles except that each square is filled with a digit rather than a letter. Clues to the puzzles are interrelated with each other and a given story. Clear thinking and deductive reasoning must be used to find potential answers and eliminate those that fail to meet all…

Two cases are cited to suggest that problem-solving has more value for the intellectual development of children when compared to the passive virtue of already knowing the answer. (DW)

In almost every classroom there is a minority of children that, regardless of effort, teachers have difficulty working with. The "Suggestion Circle" is a method for soliciting streamlined, on-focus ideas for solving classroom problems with the help of colleagues. In the Suggestion Circle there are three roles for people: the person who…

The study compared 86 learning disabled (LD) with 86 matched non-learning disabled (NLD) children (7-11 years old) on three domains of variables: social problem solving skills, school behavior, and family background. The LD children were deficient in all three domains. More specifically, they were able to generate fewer alternatives for solving…

This inventory was designed to assess the general problem solving ability of disadvantaged elementary school children from various ethnic backgrounds and grade levels. Twelve tasks are included in the inventory: sensing the problem, identifying the problem, asking questions, guessing causes, clarification of goals, judging if more information is…

The problem solving performance of 24 learning disabled and 24 non-disabled second and fourth grade children was investigated using embedded irrelevant linguistic and numerical information within addition word problems. Irrelevant numerical information but not irrelevant linguistic information affected performance of all groups; however, LD…

A teacher of gifted elementary students describes how her students used creative problem-solving principles to help her overcome a vocal problem caused by removal of a cyst. (CL)

Graphing skills are growing in importance in our information society, presenting facts and concepts in newspapers, magazines, and on television. Graphs incorporated into teaching develop children's problem-solving skills. Ways to use graphs in the classroom are discussed, and examples are given. (MT)