This article reports the findings of a research project that investigated the nature of the teaching and learning process in music composition. Over the period of one semester, the formal interactions in one-on-one study sessions between an eminent composer-teacher and an experienced graduate student-composer were videotaped. Following the…

Modeling has been shown to correct weaknesses of traditional instruction by engaging students in the design of physical models to describe, explain, and predict phenomena. Although the modeling method can be used without computers, the use of computers allows students to study problems that are difficult and time consuming, to visualize their…

Process Improvement (PI) is an approach for helping organizations to identify and resolve inefficient and ineffective processes through problem solving and pilot testing change. Use of PI in improving client access, retention and outcomes in addiction treatment is on the rise through the teaching of the Network for the Improvement of Addiction…

We investigated the effects of divergent thinking training (with explicit instruction) on problem-solving tasks in a sample of Third Culture Kids (Useem and Downie, 1976). We were specifically interested in whether the children's originality and fluency in responding increased following instruction, not only on classroom-based worksheets and the…

North American higher education finds itself on the horns of a dilemma. On the one hand, it accepts droves of freshmen who equate learning with rote memorization and who correlate achievement with the ability to pass narrowly focused standardized tests. On the other hand, it is expected to contribute to the country's cultural and economic vibrancy…

Genetic algorithms (GAs) are a problem solving strategy that uses stochastic search. Since their introduction (Holland, 1975), GAs have proven to be particularly useful for solving problems that are "intractable" using classical methods. The language of genetic algorithms (GAs) is heavily laced with biological metaphors from evolutionary…

In order to address a perceived gap between academic knowledge and education, The Dutch National Advisory Board on Education has suggested that there is a need for more communication between research and practice. For me the gap is more than simply a matter of lack of communication, than a result of the model of Research, Development and Diffusion…

Inquiry-based learning was used to enhance an undergraduate molecular biology course at Georgia Southern University, a primarily undergraduate institution in rural southeast Georgia. The goal was to use a long-term, in-class project to accelerate higher-order thinking, thereby enabling students to problem solve and apply their knowledge to novel…

The evidence-based practice (EBP) movement has the potential to significantly advance the quality of psychological and educational services provided by psychologists working in schools. Training psychologists in EBP has challenged the profession and caused faculty in graduate programs to reevaluate and retool professional training curricula and…

The integration of history into educational practice can lead to the development of activities through the use of genetic "moments" in the history of mathematics. In the present paper, we utilize Oresme's genetic ideas--developed during the fourteenth century, including ideas on the velocity-time graphical representation as well as geometric…

In this article, the authors describe a varied day of stimulating mathematics with key stage 2 learners--all revolving around chocolate. They used a variety of stimuli organized around the chocolate theme. A whole day was spent on using and applying mathematics, and the exercise proved to be enjoyable for both staff and pupils. The children…

Background: Games centred approaches (GCA) such as TGfU, Game Sense, and Tactical Games are widely promoted as alternatives to traditional forms of teaching games within physical education. These approaches are promoted on the basis of their capacity to engage students in meaningful and enjoyable physical activity and to promote problem-solving…

Although much is known about the differences between expert and novice problem solvers, knowledge of those differences typically does not provide enough detail to help instructors understand why some students seem to learn physics while solving problems and others do not. A critical issue is how students access the knowledge they have in the…

To identify and describe the basis upon which instructors make curricular and pedagogical decisions, we have developed an artifact-based interview and an analysis technique based on multilayered concept maps. The policy capturing technique used in the interview asks instructors to make judgments about concrete instructional artifacts similar to…

Everyone knows that teachers do not have unlimited time, a log of experience, or a deep understanding of all the mathematics they teach. To solve this problem, teachers often use textbooks, and the accompanying teacher's resource books, as sources of activities and advice about how to help students learn mathematics. The activity that prompted…