Two eighth-grade teachers at a Georgia middle school recently redesigned their curriculum to emphasize problem-centered, hands-on learning projects focusing on issues relevant to students. To demonstrate what was learned, students and teachers employed various student projects assessed by using rubrics that define a wide range of acceptable and…

Describes three academic group activities used with children or adults in adventure-, challenge-, and experiential-education settings (including classrooms). Includes target group, group size, time and space requirements, activity level, props needed, instructions, ideas for post-activity group processing and reflection, and follow-up activities.…

Reports on a pilot study that examined use by sixth-grade students in Costa Rica of a mathematical microworld written in LOGO. The investigation had three phases: (1) open exploration of the microworld; (2) group discussion and sharing of hypotheses; and (3) guided discovery and problem solving. (Contains 11 references.) (SLW)

This book is the result of the collaborative effort of nine AYA National Board Certified Teachers in Mathematics. It represents a compilation of teacher-tested activities that prompt high school students to explore, conjecture and reflect on their mathematical adventures-- thus "experience mathematics." This edition will educate the teacher…

This book is the result of the collaborative effort of nine AYA National Board Certified Teachers in Mathematics. Experiencing Mathematics, is a compilation of teacher-tested activities that prompt high school students to explore, conjecture and reflect on their mathematical adventures--thus "experience mathematics." The relevant nature of the…

As school curricula undergo changes in both content and pedagogy, pressure is placed on teacher preparation programs and undergraduate mathematics departments to model learning environments in mathematics appropriate for education students. Yet the reality of many post-secondary mathematics courses includes traditional style classes containing a…

This book provides teachers and recreation professionals with a guide to Project Adventure activities and curriculum. Project Adventure learning goals are: (1) increasing the participant's personal confidence; (2) increasing mutual support within a group; (3) improving agility and physical coordination; (4) increasing joy in one's physical self…

Cooperation is one of the central motivating forces in the economic and social organization of China. This unit utilizes a game called "Broken Squares" to initiate a discussion of the concepts of cooperation and competition as possible models for problem solving. In the game, students are confronted with a group task and provided with…

Five award-winning high school and college economics education projects of the Program for Innovative Teaching of Reasoning are summarized. Preceding the summaries, an essay by Marvin Bower of the Joint Council on Economic Education suggests that developing reasoning abilities creates a happier and more effective individual, a more effective…

The improvement of leadership skills in high school band students was the aim of the comprehensive program described in this report. The program contained three basic components: (1) administering the Keirsey Temperament Sorter; (2) a series of seminars; and (3) band laboratory activities. Following the administering of the Temperament Sorter,…

Presented are ways to teach pupils the concept of "sphere" with a methodology far removed from memorization of a formal definition of the concept. The material illustrates an approach to teaching that focuses on open exploration of ideas with children. Many experiments and starting points for exploration are suggested. This document has…

This paper presents the "uses of the past" model of personality development, a model in which adult development transforms an individual's history into resources for meeting present demands. The components of the model are delineated in terms of how: (1) neither the past nor the present is fixed in its effects or its contribution to present…

Presented is one of a series of resource guides designed to provide students with an improved mathematics program. This guide emphasizes real-life situations focusing on the operation of a store. Classes are divided into grocery, meat, produce, drugs, and hardware sections at the beginning of the course. Students learn how to organize, collect,…

This USMES unit challenges students to develop an outdoor area to help others appreciate nature. The teacher resource book for the Nature Trails 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 effective ways to manage and/or conserve school supplies. The teacher resource book for the School Supplies 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…