During the summer of 1986 a conference funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) was organized to assess the current state of cognitive research on the psychology of physics problem solving, and to examine the needs of physics instructors and instructional designers that must be addressed by a psychological theory of physics problem solving.…

Research on mathematics instruction is reviewed in order to respond to two questions: (1) Has the influx of talented people who have entered the mathematics instruction field over the last three decades changed anything? and (2) Will any of the work being done actually improve mathematics instruction? The different ways in which parents, students,…

One of seven review/synthesis papers prepared to help frame the research program of the Center for the Learning and Teaching of Elementary Subjects, this paper describes historical developments and current issues in curriculum, instruction, and evaluation in elementary social studies, with emphasis on teaching for understanding and higher order…

An analysis of children's narrative composition and art revealed concurrent development at both a general structural level and at a fine-grained detail level. A three-part study investigated whether this general cognitive pattern would be maintained across a different range of tasks: literary composition, scientific reasoning, and working memory.…

This document presents research studies/findings and provides a developing point of view on adolescent thought. The first chapter discusses the nature and definitions of thinking. The second and third chapters discuss frameworks for adolescent thought (focusing on the Gestalt school, Geneva school, and accelerated learning) and survey studies on…

Based on the premise that traditional skill deficiencies are symptoms of a fundamental inability to reason, to use concepts, and to solve problems, a three-part remedial course was designed by the Philosophy Department at LaGuardia Community College (New York) to teach critical thinking as a basic learning skill. Part I of the course explores the…

THE PURPOSE OF THIS STUDY WAS TO INVESTIGATE SPECIFIC METHODS OF DEVELOPING THE INQUIRY SKILLS OF ELEMENTARY SCHOOL CHILDREN. ACTIVITIES INVOLVED SELECTING SPECIFIC METHODS, GATHERING MATERIALS, AND TRAINING QUALIFIED TEACHERS. A 24-WEEK, INQUIRY TRAINING PROGRAM WAS GIVEN TO FIFTH- AND SIXTH-GRADE CHILDREN WHICH INCORPORATED--(1) ANALYSIS, (2)…

THIS GUIDE EXPLAINS HOW A COMPUTER MIGHT BE USED IN MATHEMATICS EDUCATION IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE REGULAR COURSE OF STUDY. STARTING WITH THE PREMISE THAT A CHILD WHO LEARNS TO OPERATE A COMPUTER IS LED BY HIS NEW SELF ESTEEM TOWARD A GREATER INTEREST IN HIS COURSES, THE AUTHORS STATE THAT COMPUTER EDUCATION WILL ALSO MEET THESE OBJECTIVES--(1)…

This is the ninth in the second series of general bibliographies developed to disseminate information on documents analyzed at the ERIC Information Analysis Center for Science Education. Reported are some 184 citations of selected documents in the areas of (1) evaluation, (2) educational objectives, (3) learning theories and processes, and (4)…

This final report describes the fourth year of the New Nursery School Program (NNS) set up for environmentally deprived, Spanish-surnamed 3- and 4-year-old children. The school was organized as an autotelic environment which the children (15 in each of two sessions) attended for 3 hours a day. Upon entering, children were pretested on the Wechsler…

Describes a research strategy designed to examine learning and behavior when students interacted with microcomputers and software interfaced with a videotape cassette recorder (VCR). Utilized the VCR to record the video output from the microcomputer and students' verbal comments using a microphone unit. (TW)

Two studies are reported that explore the effectiveness of instruction in promoting students' conceptual understanding of the average concept using a leveling model and an open-ended problem-solving approach. One teacher and her 46 sixth-grade students participated in the first study. One year later, the second study was conducted with the same…

This particular bulletin is concerned with the concept of human rights, and the interpretation of some of these rights in the classroom, in the school, at home, and in the community. Although the discussion is directed toward the classroom teacher primarily, principals, supervisors, administrators, and parents who want children to succeed in all…

Interviews with (n=21) fourth, sixth, and eighth graders, who were asked to construct their own notion of average and representativeness in open-ended problems, identified five basic constructions of average as mode, an algorithmic procedure, what is reasonable, midpoint, and a mathematical point of balance. (16 references) (MKR)

Divided into two parts, this article analyzes why some pupils feel reserve about instantaneous velocities and instantaneous flows. The second part relates reactions of pupils facing a problem that implicates the instantaneous rate of change. Describes some characteristics of this problem that enables the authors to explain its instructional…