Introduces puzzles that proved challenging and popular in the Mexican Chemistry Olympiad. Presents data showing that mainstream general chemistry students at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln enjoyed the puzzles and were challenged by them. (WRM)

Documented strategies preschool children used in completing complex, multipiece puzzles, which included focus on color, design, or shape. Found that all children could benefit and enjoy working on larger puzzles in the classroom and that the activity encouraged social literacy, completing a long-term project, scaffolding, and child development.…

Presented are six problems from diverse areas of mathematics that are appropriate for students of differing age and ability levels. (PK)

Undergraduate subjects were given an opportunity to cheat undetected on puzzle problems. The hypotheses were confirmed that more cheating occurred under ability attribution conditions than under luck attribution conditions; this effect of performance attribution was greater among self-aware subjects than among non-self-aware subjects. (Author/MH)

Discusses making tessellations by using a polyomino. Illustrates the various ways for various shapes of polyomino. Provides several diagrams and instructional guides. (YP)

Recommends the use of concealed images as tools for teaching geography. Suggests that images be used as examples of geographers' search for spatial regularities, metaphors for the quasi-religious quest for scientific truth, and fallibility of scientific citation. Argues that the purpose of geography becomes palpable to students when the concealed…

The Invisible Wall Project analyzes problem-solving processes of children in Grades 3 and 4 and Grades 8 and 9. The central idea of the research is to use sets of tasks that are all unsolvable, which means they have a goal that cannot be reached. The unsolvability, however, is of a kind that can be understood even by younger children. In our case,…

Research in goal theory has often relied on the general linear model, ignoring some central assumptions of the theoretical framework under investigation. The purpose of the two studies reported here was to illustrate how the Rasch model can supplement traditional statistical analyses when evaluating the effects of goal orientations on persistence.…

Six tips for increasing student problem-solving skills are offered in this teacher fact sheet. Puzzles and simulations matched to student mental maturity and general knowledge are recommended as activities for helping students think more flexibly and practice higher order thinking skills. In addition, four suggestions are given for controlling…

Problem-solving performance and goal-setting behavior were investigated in 156 undergraduates who, on Mehrabian's Achievement Scales, demonstrated either the motive to approach success or the motive to avoid failure. Different expectations of success or failure were induced by fictitious preperformance information. The degree of success or failure…

A BASIC computer program based on a game that involves picking the appropriate weighings to find an odd base from among 13 balls in three tries is discussed. A sample run is included. (MN)

The author addresses two types of classroom activities: strategic games and games of conflict. It is suggested that each has an important role to play in many areas of mathematics. In addition to providing examples of games, the author reflects on the processes involved in using the activities. (PK)

Abstract ideas in linear algebra are illustrated at different levels of difficulty through the investigation of the solution to a well-known puzzle. Matrices are used to model the puzzle and the concepts of rank, underdetermined systems, and consistency are employed in the solution to the problem. (MDH)

Presents activities in problem solving for levels K-2, 3-5, and 6-8 for each week of the month of March. Activities include open-ended problems and games that engage students' intellect and interest while working individually and cooperatively. (MDH)

Performance and persistence on the Concealed Figures Test and the Embedded Figures Test decreased: (1) after short-duration failure when subjects were falsely led to attribute failure to task difficulty; and (2) after long-duration failure when subjects were falsely led to attribute failure to lack of ability. (CP)