Archimedes' shoemaker's knife problem is interesting in its own right and also allows the demonstration of heuristic teaching ideas and a different method of doing a routine construction. The focus in the article is on the thought processes involved and questions asked when attempting proofs with the problem. (MNS)

The effects of text-provided aids on readers' understanding of scientific passages are discussed. Two techniques are pretraining on definitions and signaling. In the experiments, subjects read a scientific passage with either definitions pretraining, signaling, both, or neither. Results indicated these techniques helped readers build mental models…

Argues that critical thinking and problem-solving skills are best taught (and learned) as part of the instruction in the regular content areas. It is suggested that teachers should be more explicit when using specific thinking skills and point out when students are engaged in using those skills. (MBR)

Defines problem solving, discusses the use of problems developed by students that are relevant to their own lives, presents examples of practical mathematics problems that deal with local situations, discusses fringe benefits of this type of problem solving, and addresses teachers' concern that this method consumes too much time. (MBR)

Discusses inquiry and discovery methods in elementary school science education; emphasizes the importance of teachers knowing whether they are using the inquiry approach and to what extent. Presents a chart listing the steps involved in problem solving, indicating whether a step is teacher- or student-controlled. (BC)

Problem-solving can be an exercise in mystification for some students. Six suggestions are given for presenting word problems in mathematics in ways that make them more accessible and comprehensible for young students. (PP)

Describes a program at the University of Iowa called the Mass Communication Laboratory Sequence that offers students the opportunity to develop their abilities as professional communicators who can identify, research, and analyze problems that need communication strategies and media products for solutions. (HOD)

Discusses a high school laboratory in which the students take an active role in designing, implementing, and performing experiments concerning basic concepts in physics. (MLH)

Discusses teaching techniques, course content, strategies, and problems of teaching a behavior modification course to university students. Course target areas include subjects such as anxiety control, fear elimination, weight control, smoking reduction, interpersonal interaction, assertiveness, and exercise maintenance. (Author/DB)

Using this four CD-ROM disc set, teachers can have their very own math problem solving mentor as a leading expert in Singapore Math guides them through a lively presentation, working through math problems and explaining how Singapore has become the world's leading method in math. The expert's explanation of how to use Singapore's model-drawing…

This book helps teachers examine how children learn mathematics, develop a positive attitude toward and an interest in mathematics, teach mathematics with problem solving as the primary focus, understand the elements of a comprehensive mathematics curriculum, and establish a classroom environment that supports children's learning of mathematics.…

This collection of problems provides a resource for teachers to use in the classroom to improve the problem-solving experiences of their students. This book provides middle school teachers with some perspectives on problem solving. A framework for organizing the problem- solving experience is presented. Each phase of the problem-solving experience…

The choice of teaching an effective method--one that most students can master--or an efficient method--one that takes the fewest steps--occurs daily in Algebra I classrooms. This decision may not be made in the abstract, however, but rather in a ready-to-hand mode. This study examines how teachers solve linear equations when the purpose is…

Previous research has shown that many secondary school students improperly apply linear models when solving non-linear problems involving lengths, area and volume of similar plane figures and solids. This phenomenon is called the "illusion of linearity". This paper presents a teaching experiment in which we developed and tested a learning…

Conflict resolution education has proven to be one of the key components of school strategies that not only assist young people in finding alternatives to violence, but also support them in developing the social competencies of cooperation, empathy, creative problem solving, social cognitive skills, and relationship skills. This handbook is a…