Hands-on science activities and first-hand experiences of kindergartners studying trees demonstrate the true meaning of authentic assessment. The activities and teacher interactions had several things in common: (1) they asked students to perform or create something; (2) they invoked real-world applications; (3) they showed that there is more than…

New information and communications technologies and research in cognitive science have led to new ways to think about and implement learning environments. Among these new approaches to instruction and new methods to support learning and performance is an interest in and emphasis on complex subject matter (e.g., complex and dynamic systems…

Based on the criteria of Ramsden (1992) of contextual factors that encourage a deep approach to learning, an independent, open-ended field-based activity for students of behavioural ecology was designed and implemented. The project was designed to create an authentic learning activity that allowed responsible choice in the method and content…

This report discusses a project to develop, test, and disseminate the SNAP (Smart Needs Assessment Program) system for needs assessment and inservice training of regular educators to work with students with disabilities. The SNAP system is an expert system that defines the training needs of individual teachers and links these needs with training…

To determine if differing ability levels will affect the acquisition of problem-solving skills and self-esteem as a result of participation in two approaches to teaching problem-solving skills, a study was conducted with sixth graders in a posttest-only control group experimental design. Subjects were 102 sixth graders randomly assigned to 5…

The performance of children on problem-solving tasks 8 years after their participation in an early education intervention was compared with that of children who did not receive the intervention. At the time of the outcome assessment, all subjects (n=60) were in middle school. One group of the subjects was selected from the middle school students…

Based on the premise that psychology can be an invaluable tool to mathematics educators, this book highlights how informal mathematics develops, how children construct their view of school arithmetic, and how mathematical thinking operates. The ideas offered are intended to assist teachers in making informed decisions concerning mathematics…

Help-seeking has become a topic of growing interest in the past 5 years for educators and psychologists concerned with the development and enhancement of children's active learning skills. This paper explains the instrumental role of help-seeking in learning. Major conceptualizations of help-seeking are examined and evaluated for their utility in…

Uses two studies to examine developmental and task effects in estimation problems. Results are discussed in terms of student and task characteristics and the implications of such variables on information processing model of learning. Implications for science teaching, learning problem diagnostics, and science curricula are also discussed. (TW)

Reports on the development of a modified Problem-Based Learning approach to a freshman course. Enables faculty to teach basic biochemical concepts and principles as well as their application to clinical cases. Includes the syllabus and workshop goals based on Bloom's taxonomy. (MVL)

Presents the results of a survey of 165 seventh grade students asked to respond yes, no, or maybe to 21 metacognitive statements about their cognitive activity on a mathematical word problem. Suggests how to use the responses as a basis for developing classroom activities. (MDH)

A longitudinal study followed Brian from grade five through grade seven to examine his representation and development of mathematical knowledge. Some observations over the four years were that Brian liked to figure things out, responded poorly to suggestions not fitting the representation he constructed, and changed attitudes from purposeful and…

A fifth-grade teacher describes her investigation of direct teaching of collaborative skills, explaining how she taught explicit cooperative skills and documented her findings. The teacher describes patterns of higher-quality journal entries, improved collaborative skills, increased self-esteem, transfer of collaborative skills to new contexts,…

Reports results from a project designed to bring about student conceptual change by using multiple modeling and representation as well as links to other areas. Students developed rules as conveniences and meanings for symbols, were active in learning, made interpretations, and had confidence in their thinking. (MKR)

A law school course in advanced corporate legal practice is described. The course, a series of simulated lawyering tasks centered on a hypothetical leveraged buyout transaction, is designed to go beyond basic legal analysis to develop professional expertise in legal problem solving. The course description includes goals, syllabus design,…