Learning to teach mathematics for understanding is not easy. First, practice itself is complex. Second, many teachers' traditional experiences with and orientations to mathematics and its pedagogy are additional hindrances. This paper examines teaching practices and reviews some of what is known about prospective and experienced elementary…

This document contains lessons designed for teaching geography and map skills to intermediate level students, although many may be adapted to other grade levels. The lessons place heavy reliance on children making a series of individual and collective maps. The 16 lessons included are: (1) mental maps; (2) conventional maps; (3) map elements; (4)…

In this study 34 spontaneous analogies produced by 16 college freshmen while solving qualitative physics problems are analyzed. A number of the analogies were invalid in the sense that they led to an incorrect answer from the physicist's point of view. However, many were valid, and a few were powerful in the sense that they seemed not only to help…

A dominant theme in cognitive psychology is that prior knowledge in long-term memory has a strong influence on an individual's cognitive processing. Citing numerous memory studies with children, knowledge base effects are presented as part of a broader picture of memory development. Using the sort/recall procedure (asking subjects to group sets of…

Examines the problem-solving strategies of experts and novices. Summarizes the overall performance of four experts and eight novices. Examines several protocols in depth in order to show how subjects introduced new terms and relationships during problem solving sessions. Compares the strategies of expert and novice problem solvers. (CW)

This article considers relatively neglected resources for the "bootstrapping" of cognitive growth, including chance plus selection, the affective boosting of relevant schemas, the operation of innate biases, and use of spare mental capacity. Implications for educational research are illustrated with reference to recent work on the…

Research has revealed distinct differences in the problem-solving approaches of high- and low-aptitude students. As a consequence, content area teachers can focus on thinking skills by having students describe their mental processes and giving them feedback on erroneous or incomplete reasoning. (TE)

Uses interviews and a written questionnaire to probe students' ideas on the origin of earth and life on earth. A significant number of commonly held misconceptions were prevalent in the sample (N=493). Provides guidelines to assist learners in challenging existing views. Contains 64 references. (DDR)

Explores both the qualitative and quantitative dimensions of pupils' ideas related to conservation during state changes of water. Analysis of questionnaire data indicates that qualitative understanding precedes quantitative. Contains 18 references. (DDR)

Lends support to the idea that the quality of the cases used in problem-based learning affects the nature of student learning in this context. Outlines seven principles adapted from research on learning and cognition that can help guide case design. Contains 22 references. (DDR)

Discussed is the philosophy of the educational purpose of science education, the science involved, and the relationships of students and learning and students and content. A list of 14 references is included. (CW)

Used are test and interview data to extract evidence as to what level tenth graders have coordinated the worlds of arithmetic and algebra and can move freely between them. More dissociation is shown than was expected. (Author/MVL)

Reports on the assessment of student thinking in the area of commitment to the laws of conservation of matter and energy during a study of conceptual change among introductory chemistry students. States four conditions upon which strategies for conceptual change are based. (RT)

Children's magical explanations and beliefs were investigated in two studies. Found that many four-year olds view magic as a plausible mechanism, yet reserve magical explanations for certain real world events that violate their causal expectations. Parents and culture at large may at first actively support magical beliefs whereas peers and schools…

The importance of instructing gifted students in correlational reasoning is emphasized, with attention to what the skill involves and why it is difficult to learn; effective teaching strategies; and successful programs in whole-class, cooperative-learning, and computer formats. Implications in programming for gifted students are discussed. (SW)