These learning stations use questions about television and film stars, as well as famous historical figures, to motivate students in problem solving and other technical language skills. (Author/SJL)

The use of the hand-held calculator for introducing geometric growth is illustrated. The activity is designed for secondary school mathematics students. (MP)

Spatial concepts are important to the development of many skills, including reasoning and problem solving. Here are guidelines for making geometry learning more effective for elementary-grade students. (Editor)

Two problems are presented and discussed as a means of demonstrating that the calculator can play a more important role in the mathematics class than simply as a computational tool. (MP)

Presented is an interview concerning development and implementation of the Unified Sciences and Mathematics for Elementary Schools (USMES) project, which has developed an interdisciplinary problem-solving curriculum for elementary students. (Author)

An illustrative case problem and questions for discussion are presented to provide a classroom situation which provides students with an opportunity to gain experience typical of that which characterizes employment in business organizations. Focus is on use of the technique in graduate and undergraduate programs designed to train teachers of…

An inner city school solved its attendance problem by developing special attendance teams that helped promote plans of positive action to prevent children from becoming chronic absentees and potential dropouts. (Author/RK)

Presents examples of problem tasks that promote communication and develop or reinforce important mathematical concepts. Problems that have multiple solutions or methods of solution are best in stimulating discussion, creativity, and risk taking. Examples were chosen from TOPS: Communication Deck Grades 1 and 2 (Greenes, Schulman, and Spungin;…

Describes a multicultural and multidisciplinary classroom activity involving the mathematics of flags. Activities are related to geometry and spatial sense, linear and area measurement, fractions, and basic arithmetic. Venn diagrams are introduced as a way to organize information to simplify understanding. This experience supports whole-language…

Argues that encouraging talking among young learners in the classroom is one of the best ways to foster learning. Presents incidents which illustrate that children naturally use language to report on experiences, collaborate toward agreed ends, project into the future, focus on causal and dependent relationships, create and discuss problems,…

Describes strategies for using literature to teach number sense and problem solving. Reports that the rich class discussions reflected some of the students' thinking, gave students opportunities to share their approaches and understandings, and gave the teacher additional insights into students' thinking. (JRH)

Describes the "Numbers Game"--a collaborative simulation to prepare students for participation in a full collaborative writing project. (RS)

Described are activities in the study of techniques used to conceal the meanings of messages and data. Some background information and two BASIC programs that illustrate the algorithms used in a new cryptographic system called "public-key cryptography" are included. (CW)

Presented are two examples of real-life examples that can be used to promote or exemplify concepts of probability and statistics. Details of the calculation of these probabilities are given. (CW)

Discussed is the tendency of students to equate the concepts of continuity and connected graphs based on their lack of an understanding of such concepts as limit points, closed sets, and connected sets. Included is a theorem with three lemmas with their proofs. (KR)