This USMES unit challenges students to find ways to help themselves and/or others to adapt to new situations. The teacher resource book for the Orientation unit contains five sections. The first section describes the USMES approach to student-initiated investigations of real problems, including a discussion of the nature of the USMES "challenges"…

This USMES unit challenges students to build a burglar alarm which will give adequate warning. The teacher resource book for the Burglar Alarm Design unit contains five sections. The first section describes the USMES approach to student-initiated investigations of real problems, including a discussion of the nature of the USMES "challenges" and of…

This USMES unit challenges students to find out what is the best information to put in a description so that a person can be quickly and easily identified. The teacher resource book for the Describing People unit contains five sections. The first section describes the USMES approach to student-initiated investigations of real problems, including a…

This USMES unit challenges students to invent a new soft drink that would be popular and produced at a low cost. The teacher resource book for the Soft Drink Design unit contains five sections. The first section describes the USMES approach to student-initiated investigations of real problems, including a discussion of the nature of the USMES…

Presented is a description of the Education and Experience in Engineering (E3) Program at the Illinois Institute of Technology. Included are the objectives, how the program works, faculty, dissemination of E3 information, integration of science and technology into the E3 program, and the integration of liberal arts and engineering. A chapter is…

Two pilot studies investigated the effects of using Instructional Math Play (IMP) Kits, pamphlets with which individuals may play the mathematical game EQUATIONS against a computer program. Twenty-nine junior high students in a high-ability mathematics class completed varying numbers of the kits in five 48-minute sessions during a two-week period;…

Explains how peer writing tutors not only help their fellow students, but can also learn a great deal themselves about grammar and mechanics, information processing, marking papers, audience awareness, and problem-solving strategies. (ARH)

Perhaps some of the most engaging, unique, Web-based activities are virtual quests that take student participants along on real expeditions, following a team in the field as they explore new territory or do research on authentic scientific problems. Virtual quests, such as the MayaQuest expedition produced by Classroom Connect, are excellent…

Included in this column are Star Trek, a geometric construction problem; a simplified approach to correlation using scattergrams; a calculus problem concerning second derivatives for extreme values; and a note on integration by parts. (MNS)

Presents a series of lessons that extend the concrete experiences many elementary students have had with attribute blocks to provide middle school students with informal opportunities to explore the concepts and properties of relations and functions. (DDR)

Asserts that play is an important medium for young children's learning, one that contributes to the child's cognitive, physical, emotional, and social development. Discusses the qualities that distinguish play from other activities, the skills children develop from exposure to a variety of play experiences at home and in the classroom, and…

Describes an activity which uses the computer to produce an environment that encourages an inductive reasoning approach to ratio and proportion through a billiard ball simulation. Provides examples of graphs and bouncing ball data. (RT)

"The Systemic Initiative for Montana Mathematics and Science," based on a successful Dutch nontraditional curriculum, was used by a mathematics teacher to help ninth graders apply previously learned skills. Creative learning modules provided hands-on experience and helped students carry concrete knowledge to more abstract levels,…

A study investigated the ability of University of Newcastle upon Tyne (England) teacher trainees to use their problem-solving skills in experiential programs in local businesses and public services. Students were grouped in teams and placed as "intelligent outsiders" with employers. Results for hosts and students are reported, and…

Reviews the history and development of the "Our Working World" elementary textbook series, an example of the New Social Studies reform movement of the 1960s and 1970s. Describes the Organic Curriculum, which integrated the fundamental ideas of five social science disciplines. Maintains that implementing the K-6 program all at once was an…