This article offers specific strategies to diagnose and remediate difficulties students may have in learning multiplication facts. Analyzes strategies students use to go from a known fact to an unknown fact. The point is made that, for many students, the order of interpretation of a number fact may affect accuracy. (DB)

The study examined methods of mathematical problem solving with 34 gifted and 34 average Dutch 10 year olds. Typical questioning protocols are diagrammed and results tabulated. Preliminary findings suggest the potential value of explicit teaching of advanced mathematical problem-solving skills to pupils of average ability. (DB)

Words are only one way of symbolizing ideas. Numbers, pictures, graphs, maps, diagrams, photographs, and other means are also used to convey information. Researchers refer to notational systems such as graphs, diagrams, and maps as "inscriptions." Inscriptions are tools that help people to perceive and to talk about spatial worlds. Spatial…

The purpose of this study was to determine whether providing students with continuous written instructional support or fading written instructional support (scaffolds) better prepares students to construct scientific explanations when they are no longer provided with support. This article investigated the influence of scaffolding on 331…

We present a simple activity in which students measure the resolving power of their eyes. The approach can be used at various levels of sophistication with students having a wide variety of skills and scientific training. We discuss our experiences using this activity with a class of non-science majors as well as with a group of pre-engineering…

In teaching a well-organized college physics course that is understandable to students, teachers should first understand students' conditions and circumstances and be clear on the goals of the course. The goals of physics teaching are commonly defined as understanding the nature of scientific reasoning and the concepts and methods of physics,…

Three distinct theories can be set forth for viewing intelligence: a "super-intellect theory" associated with the belief in innate ideas; a sensualistic theory that posits no intellectual role beyond synthesizing of sense-data; and a concept of intelligence as a power to abstract, judge, and reason. Many chronic and current educational…

Students who are taught to understand and apply Korzybski's uses of semantics to their writing will learn to write more concretely. As students locate words and descriptions vertically on Korzybski's scale of abstraction levels, they will become able to perceive how meanings change when descriptions become either more general or specific, to…

Four experiments are presented to support the theory that the rule system governing the law of large numbers is not tied to a content domain, and that it can be improved by formal teaching techniques. The experiments showed that statistical training enhanced everyday reasoning. Test problems and objective example problems are appended. (LMO)

Study of 24 second and third grade teachers to determine what characteristics and behaviors result in effective teaching. Results indicate that successful classroom performance is related to a highly autonomous attitude, preference for pragmatic activities, lecturing half the class time, having an abstract conceptual structure and the teacher…

Observation of practices in V. V. Davydov's laboratory school suggests that students proceed from concrete example to abstract generalization--rather than from abstract to concrete, as Davydov has claimed. (GDC)

From a review of the literature on modeling processes, observational learning, social learning theory, and vicarious concept learning by young children, the author draws guidelines for the teaching of abstractions to preschoolers. (SJL)

Examines classic fairy tales, noting the lack of attention given the role of imagination in children's learning. Discusses features of fairy stories such as structure, oppositional concepts, and emotional component, then infers four principles about young children's learning. Gives two examples of how these principles can influence teaching to be…

The relationship between argumentation and informal reasoning is discussed, followed by a consideration of instructional factors that influence argumentation performance. An account of one expert student reasoner is provided. Instruction in argumentation is reviewed, and suggestions are made for argumentation based on classroom experience. (SLD)