Clarifies the meaning of writing across the curriculum and writing to learn mathematics, and describes formal and informal approaches for incorporating writing into the mathematics classroom. Concludes that writing in mathematics can identify math anxious students and help discover students' misconceptions. (11 references) (MDH)

Presents a study of the role of sociocognitive conflict theory in cognitive growth. Analyzes whether five- to seven-year-old student dyads can solve a conservation of length task when presented with contradictory solutions or whether they require the correct answer. Concludes that conflict does not result in appropriate learning. (SG)

This response to Norman Bray (EC 609 160) analyzes the methodology and findings of the original study and concludes that studies of strategy production must look at not only the mentally retarded child's cognitive capacities in problem solving but also the social and contextual conditions that affect the child's representation and use of…

In a preliminary ethnographic study, the developmental tasks of 23 first-year and 20 fourth-year medical students were assessed with reference to practical problem solving. Findings provide direct support for a relationship between practical intellectual development and life course contexts. (SLD)

Four considerations for fostering metacognitive development in children who speak languages other than English are (1) bilingual metacognitive development; (2) use of primary language as the language of instruction, with contextualized second-language content; (3) understanding of the sociocultural context; and (4) a problem-solving approach. (SK)

This paper answers several frequently asked questions about constructivism, including how to define it, how to plan the curriculum, how to assess student understanding, what to do with the information, where to begin, how students work in a constructivist classroom, and why constructivism is important. (SM)

Devised a model that hypothesized that students, in discriminating relevant information in mathematical story problems, search for values of semantic categories that match those in the problem. Two experiments assessed the validity of the model. Results indicated that the model was an accurate predictor of discrimination performance for successful…

Analyzes group discourse (n=24) during laboratory investigations in order to understand how students solve scientific problems and the ways social roles shape the development and articulation of arguments. Results indicate that knowledge building depends on students learning to use tools of the scientific community and the social context in which…

Investigates the effect of mental schemes corresponding to additive and multiplicative situations in the process of interpreting and solving problems. Classifies relative difficulties of problems according to their situations which are considered through a written test administered to pupils in grades 2, 3, and 4. Supports the assumption that…

Analyzed a corpus of videotapes in which university students solved physics problems to determine how students learn to understand a physics equation. Found that students learn to understand physics equations in terms of a vocabulary of elements called symbolic forms, each associating a simple conceptual schema with a pattern of symbols. Findings…

This study examined effects of individual differences in speak-span scores and variations in memory demands on class-inclusion performance of 10-, 13-, and 15-year-olds. Results from regression analyses and the mathematical model indicated that differences in age, speak span, and memory load affected performance. Effects of speak span and memory…

A study investigated the problem-solving performance, style, and cross-cultural differences of 72 students (ages 9-15) with mild mental retardation from African American, European American, and Nigerian cultural backgrounds. Nigerians generated more independent responses and European American generated more independent responses than African…

Worldwide interest in work and learning is generating a large volume of disparate disconnected studies which can help improve the understanding of both work and learning as separate domains, but which lack an overall perspective. This paper proposes the outline of a conceptual framework for relating work and learning by an individual worker as a…

Three studies examined whether mathematics can propel the development of physical understanding. In Experiment 1, 10-year-olds solved balance scale problems that used easy-to-count discrete quantities or hard-to-count continuous quantities. Discrete quantities led to age typical performances. Continuous quantities caused performances like those of…

The principal mode of environmental education is to integrate environmental education into science classes. Biology is a life science. To study biology it is necessary to talk about the living environment and the relationship between biological organisms and their environment. Studying biology not only enables students to learn a great deal of…