This book offers ideas to enrich instruction and help teachers explore the intrinsic beauty of math. Through dozens of examples from arithmetic, algebra, geometry, and probability, the symmetries, patterns, processes, paradoxes, and surprises that have facilitated generations of great thinkers are revealed. Activities include: (1) The Beauty in…

To examine how conceptual knowledge about fraction magnitudes changes as students' learning progresses, 5th and 7th-grade students were asked to solve fraction magnitude problems that entailed finding a fraction between two given fractions and then to evaluate solutions for similar problems that were modeled for them. When the given fractions…

The purpose of this book is to teach the basic principles of problem solving in both mathematical and non-mathematical problems. The major components of the book consist of learning to translate verbal discussion into analytical data, learning problem solving methods for attacking collections of analytical questions or data, and building a…

In the context of higher education, the development of students' problem solving skills continues to be an area of much ongoing research. Effective teaching of problem solving requires the adoption of process-based approaches that reveal to students the ways that experts solve problems, and the coaching of students in higher order and…

This paper presents implementation details related to the freshman integrated curriculum at Texas A&M University. Specifically, the need for strong integration between physics, calculus, engineering problem solving, engineering design graphics, and English is emphasized. The paper presents a brief summary of the design and pilot implementation…

Lists 36 topics that may optimize the effectiveness of teaching and learning in the scientific disciplines at the university level. Topics are related to planning for instruction, the role of a syllabus in guiding instruction, and interaction strategies. (DDR)

Explores the potential relationship of teaching and total quality management (TQM) and the subsequent benefits for individual medical teachers. Addresses issues such as defining teaching processes and quality teaching, responding to customers' needs, assessing current teaching practices, and improving one's own teaching. Contains 18 references.…

Responds to R.G. Bing-You's argument for the application of total quality management (TQM) techniques to medical teaching. Argues that attempts to apply TQM to medical education are fundamentally flawed because medical education is not an intrinsically commercial transition. (DDR)

Explains task definition which is the first stage in the Big 6, an approach to information and technology skills instruction. Highlights include defining the problem; identifying the information requirements of the problem; transferability from curriculum-based problems to everyday tasks; and task definition logs kept by students. (LRW)

Presents strategies for encouraging dialog with students from eliciting preconceptions to bringing closure to a unit. Includes the general structure of an instructional unit that employs dialog, strategies for teachers to use, and strategies for students which include active listening. (DDR)

Discusses the use of spreadsheets for mathematical problem solving to help develop higher-level-thinking skills and foster an experimental attitude toward learning mathematics. An example is given of middle-school and high-school students investigating a number-structures problem. (LRW)

An Australian comparison study of 26 children (mean age=10) with mild intellectual disabilities, 26 typical children of approximately the same mental age, and 26 children of approximately the same chronological age, found no mean differences on problem-solving abilities between the children with intellectual disabilities and children of comparable…

Describes a collaborative effort between a professor and a group of high school teachers pursuing an M.A. in education as they model practices for problem solving in the school climate. Addresses the theory that teachers who feel supported in their own ongoing learning and classroom practices are more committed to teaching. (Contains six…

Explores teaching methods to improve students' understanding of quantitative chemistry and their ability to solve related problems using the Multidimensional Analysis System (MAS). Investigates the relationships between MAS-classified chemistry problems and student achievement in solving these problems. Shows that improvement in student…

Two experiments involving 44 Hong Kong undergraduates revealed that solving novel conceptual combination problems could enhance performance in a subsequent test of creativity. The evidence also showed that the beneficial effects of solving novel conceptual combination problems were mediated in part by the use of novel conceptual combination…