Investigates 6th-grade students' use of equations to describe and represent problem situations prior to formal instruction in algebra. Describes students' preinstructional uses of equations to generalize problem situations and raise questions about the most appropriate curriculum for building on students' intuitive knowledge of algebra. (Contains…

Traditionally, novice programmers have had difficulties in three distinct areas: breaking down a given problem, designing a workable solution, and debugging the resulting program. Many programming environments, software applications, and teaching tools have been developed to address the difficulties faced by these novices. Along with advancements…

Students are increasingly being prescribed stimulant medication to treat the symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Although several authors have advocated specific procedures for monitoring the effects of this medication in school settings, recent evidence suggests that these procedures are not being used adequately. In this…

Intelligence has long been a topic of special interest to social scientists, but research that involves intelligence as a predictor of behavior usually focuses on domains such as crime and delinquency, academic achievement, and socioeconomic status. In this article, the authors address this gap in the literature and develop a theoretical framework…

At the K-12 level one assumes that mathematically gifted students identified by out-of-level testing are also creative in their work. In professional mathematics, "creative" mathematicians constitute a very small subset within the field. At this level, mathematical giftedness does not necessarily imply mathematical creativity but the…

Plausibility has been implicated as playing a critical role in many cognitive phenomena from comprehension to problem solving. Yet, across cognitive science, plausibility is usually treated as an operationalized variable or metric rather than being explained or studied in itself. This article describes a new cognitive model of plausibility, the…

Peer-Led Team Learning (PLTL) is a method of student assisted learning in which a successful undergraduate student guides a team of 6-8 students engaged in solving problems developed by the course instructor. The peer leaders serve as role models for their students who want to become peer leaders and the leaders also recruit other students to…

The article describes how one Educational Psychology Service in the UK developed a service delivery based on self-organised learning (SOL). This model is linked to the paradigms and discourses within which educational psychology and special educational needs work. The work described here is dedicated to the memory of Brian Roberts, academic, close…

The students of a Mathematical Modeling and Problem Solving class investigate and explore the mathematics involved in fitting a box spring mattress up a stairwell by solving various optimization problems and by using The Geometer's Sketchpad. The results show that a very small fraction of the class was actually able to solve the problem without…

This issue of "Early Developments" examines a relatively new phenomenon in the early childhood field called "evidence-based practice," defined herein as "a decision-making process that integrates the best available research evidence with family and professional wisdom and values." This issue of "Early Developments" includes the following articles:…

Modeling has been shown to correct weaknesses of traditional instruction by engaging students in the design of physical models to describe, explain, and predict phenomena. Although the modeling method can be used without computers, the use of computers allows students to study problems that are difficult and time consuming, to visualize their…

Process Improvement (PI) is an approach for helping organizations to identify and resolve inefficient and ineffective processes through problem solving and pilot testing change. Use of PI in improving client access, retention and outcomes in addiction treatment is on the rise through the teaching of the Network for the Improvement of Addiction…

Joyce VanTassel-Baska is the Executive Director of the Center for Gifted Education and the Jody and Layton Smith Professor of Education at the College of William & Mary, Williamsburg, Virginia. For the past 20 years, the Integrated Curriculum Model, based on research of what works with gifted learners, has been the foundation of curriculum…

The purpose of this chapter is to draw some general lessons on curricular evolution processes and practices at the faculty level emerging from the creation of Renaissance College at the University of New Brunswick and the implementation of its BPhil program. The authors proceed by induction, working from the specific case of Renaissance College to…

The integration of history into educational practice can lead to the development of activities through the use of genetic "moments" in the history of mathematics. In the present paper, we utilize Oresme's genetic ideas--developed during the fourteenth century, including ideas on the velocity-time graphical representation as well as geometric…