In this article, the author reflects on her session at the 2006 conference, including the learning styles and strategies she observed. In her session, they explored some of the more unusual aspects of convex polyhedra (with regular faces), including the notions of "valence" and "species". Although the session was about shape and space, there was…

The manual on problem solving was culled from a set of newspaper articles in the Philadelphia Inquirer. Each brief article typically suggests problem solving strategies and offers sample problems on which to test one's skill. Articles are organized into the categories of input, process, and output. The input section offers ideas about analysis,…

The current study aimed at examining the efficacy of technological projects as learning tools by exploring the following questions: the extent to which projects in technology develop students as independent learners; the types of knowledge the students deal with in working on their projects; the role of problem-solving in technological projects;…

This study examined the role of variability and change in children's strategy performance within the context of spelling. The spelling ability of 34 eight- to nine-year-olds was examined using an experimental spelling task comprising 45 items, which varied with regard to rime unit frequency. The spelling task incorporated a series of consistent,…

Educational games may offer a viable strategy for developing students' problem-solving skills. However, the state of art of educational game research does not provide an account for that. Thus, the aim of this research is to develop an empirically allocated model about problem-based gaming that can be utilised to design pedagogically meaningful…

Teachers need to monitor students' self-efficacy judgments, as well as their mathematics learning, to provide optimal instruction. First, inaccuracies in self-judgments appear to be a major liability for elementary and middle school children. Classroom practice must cultivate the knowledge to succeed and should nurture the belief that one can…

Understanding the scientific method fosters the development of critical thinking and logical analysis of information. Additionally, proposing and testing a hypothesis is applicable not only to science, but also to ordinary facts of daily life. Knowing the way science is done and how its results are published is useful for all citizens and…

This research aims to explore the role of physical representations in young children's numerical learning then identify the benefits of using a graphical interface in order to understand the potential for developing interactive technologies in this domain. Three studies are reported that examined the effect of using physical representations…

A teacher offers six suggestions for giving students opportunities to exercise their commonsense thinking skills. This allows the teacher to ask rather than tell, listen rather than talk, and allows the children to provide for themselves. (MT)

Describes the characteristics of young children as they develop problem-solving skills and strategies. (Author/NB)

Discusses the differences between training, which usually focuses on more specific job skills, and teaching, which is usually more concerned with acquiring declarative knowledge. Suggests training should be made more like teaching, focusing more on understanding, emphasizing intrinsic goals of learning, problem solving, and subject-specific…

Understanding the user and customizing the interface to augment cognition and usability are goals of human computer interaction research and design. Yet, little is known about the influence of individual visual-verbal information presentation preferences on visual navigation and screen element usage. If consistent differences in visual navigation…

Young Filipino children are expected to solve mathematical word problems in English, a task which they typically encounter only in schools. In this exploratory study, task-based interviews were conducted with seven Filipino children from a public school. The children were asked to read and solve addition and subtraction word problems in English or…

Problem based learning (PBL) is a recognised teaching and learning strategy used to engage students in deep rather than surface learning. It is also viewed as a successful strategy to align university courses with the real life professional work students are expected to undertake on graduation (Biggs, 2003). Problem based learning is practised…

This study investigates algebraic reasoning and self-regulation skills among elementary school teachers who participated in a professional development program either with IMPROVE metacognitive questioning (PD + Meta) or with no metacognitive guidance (PD). Sixty-four Israeli teachers participated in a 3-year program designed to enhance…