Reports on a study which examined the relationship between spatial ability and performance in organic chemistry. Results indicated that students with high spatial scores did significantly better on questions requiring problem solving skills, as well as on those requiring the mental manipulation of two-dimensional representations of a molecule. (TW)

Presents a new method to teach the subject of evaporators which is both simple enough to use in the classroom and accurate and flexible enough to be used as a design tool in practice. Gives an example using a triple evaporator series. Analyzes the effect of this method. (CW)

Characterizes typical training programs on "learning to think," outlines past research, and lists criteria for an aptitude-treatment interaction (ATI) study of the relationship between tasks, training methods, and student attributes. Details are given of two computerized experiments examining the different effects of algorithmic and…

Discusses the structure of a problem-based curriculum based on the complexity of the problems that the students must solve, taking into account the level they must attain and their previous experience with problem-based teaching. This approach is compared with the conventional teaching methods. Twenty-two references are listed. (CHC)

Algorithmic and investigative approaches to mathematics are compared and discussed. Their mutually contradictory spirit is explored. Examples of the application of each method to a mathematics problem are presented. (CW)

Describes teaching strategies that help students improve problem solving skills. Lists three factors good problem solvers were found to possess. Gives step by step instructions for solving problems. (MVL)

Discusses the implementation of interactive educational software that was designed to enhance critical thinking, scientific reasoning, and problem solving in a university psychology course. Piagetian and computer learning perspectives are explained; the courseware package, PsychWare, is described; and the use of heuristics and algorithms in…

This article, which is organized around a single, well-known algorithm for root extraction, presents a way of incorporating dynamical systems into the teaching of mathematics. Included are sample exercises using complex numbers and the computer where students have the opportunity to do some analysis on this algorithm. (KR)

Describes use of the little-known Shuttle Puzzle in computer programming to elucidate the process of analyzing a problem and synthesizing observations into an algorithm that can be used to generate a programming solution. The process used to solve the problem reflects one that an expert uses. The method could be adapted for small-group cooperative…

This paper describes how a target group of seven students in a combined fourth and fifth grade mathematics class used structured representations to solve fraction problems situated within various realistic contexts. Emphasis is given to the ways in which students' thinking about rational number concepts influences and is influenced by the…

This student textbook is designed to incorporate programable calculators in grade 11 mathematics. The eight chapters contained in this document are: (1) Using Calculators in Mathematics; (2) Exponents and Logarithms; (3) Trigonometry of the Right Triangle; (4) Trigonometry Beyong the Right Triangle; (5) Graphs of the Trigonometric Functions and…

Fourteen research reports related to mathematics education are abstracted and analyzed. Two of the reports deal with teacher education, two with problem solving, three with basic operations, and one each with learning disabled students, rational numbers, proportional reasoning, counting, teacher effectiveness, group cooperation on mathematical…

A review is presented of the role of algorithms in learning and instruction. The paper first describes an algorithm as a procedure guaranteed to produce a correct result and lists its features as: 1) having a reasonably finite number of unambiguously defined operations; 2) having zero or more inputs from a specified domain; 3) having outputs with…

Differentiates between problems, exercises and algorithms. Discusses the role of algorithms in solving problems and exercises in chemistry. Suggests that very real differences exist between solving problems and exercises, and that problem solving steps can be and should be taught in chemistry education. (TW)

Examines the hypothesis that there are preliminary stages in problem solving that are often neglected in teaching chemistry. Discusses correlations calculated between the student's ability to handle disembedding and cognitive restructuring tasks in the spatial domain and ability to solve chemistry problems. (TW)