The global trend of the declining interest in chemistry education is a major concern. Over the last few decades, significant efforts and improvements have been made in various areas of chemistry education research to increase student motivation and engagement based on classroom and laboratory practices. However, little research has been conducted…

Suggests a scientific approach for teaching problem solving that would aim at understanding the underlying cognitive mechanisms responsible for good problem solving and would then use the resulting insights to design explicit instructions for enhancing student's problem solving skills. (Author/SK)

This paper reports on the effects of structuring problem solving activities of novices in the domain of physics in a way consistent with the problem solving approaches used by experts. A total of 42 undergraduate students who completed a first semester physics course and received a grade of B or better participated in this study. The treatment…

States that students who simultaneously acquire subject matter concepts and high-level thinking skills are more likely to learn, remember, and be able to apply the concepts. Provides an example for assisting faculty in developing better decision-makers. (RT)

An episodic and activity oriented approach is employed in this unit that illustrates the theme of interdependence of living things. Concepts related to dependence, competition, community, and ecosystems are developed through a case study of a raccoon problem. Various means of solving the raccoon problem are explored within a societal context. Five…

This report describes a project designed to expand higher order thinking skills in five primary students with disabilities in order to increase problem solving and decision making skills. The project incorporated higher order thinking skills into mathematics, science and language arts units, and implemented weekly, cooperative learning techniques…

This study examined two major areas: (1) evaluation of the characteristics, interactions, problem-solving strategies and achievement of seventh- and eighth-grade junior high school students (N=66) as they interacted with a microcomputer in three problem-solving sessions, and (2) determination of the effectiveness of three original microcomputer…

Intended for educational policy makers, this publication considers the teaching of controversial topics. Specifically discussed are what issues are considered controversial, why controversial topics should be taught, court decisions, ways educators can prepare for community response or complaints, and questions to address when making curriculum…

These activities help high school students develop an understanding of nuclear weapons within the context of human beings making choices. Students learn to evaluate information and to identify the political stand or bias in what they hear and read. To record their own growth and change, students are encouraged to keep a journal. Teachers can…

The document contains seven learning activities for junior high students on the energy situation. Objectives are to help students gain understanding and knowledge about the relationships between humans and their social and physical environments; solve problems and clarify issues; examine personal beliefs and values; and recognize the relationships…