Maintains that an environment of trust, protection, and mutual regard allows children to grow in the practice of cooperation, joint problem solving, and positive social behavior. Details ways for teachers to create a democratic and participatory climate, and a community of caring and well-being, in the classroom. (LB)

Discusses thinking skills for college students and describes strategies that can be used by faculty to teach thinking skills in distance education courses. Criteria for teaching thinking skills to distance learners are suggested, and methods are presented for teaching problem solving, how to evaluate information, and decision making. (10…

Described are the variations found between the western and African versions of the same logic puzzle. It is demonstrated that mathematical ideas are of concern in traditional non-Western cultures as well as in the West. (KR)

Explored are the distributions of residual components in two model systems. A system of components with exponentially distributed lifetimes and the two-dimensional "leaf model" in which objects fall on a plane with positions independent and normally distributed are discussed. Included are the definition, application, computations, and theorem. (KR)

The problem of determining the most energy-efficient strategy to use in approaching a traffic light that is sighted at an unknown phase in its cycle is discussed. Included are calculations, results, and conclusions. (KR)

Described are some ways in which individual states code driver's license numbers. The encoding of month, date of birth, year of birth, sex, and others involving elementary mathematics and the use of an elaborate system of hashing functions in describing the first, middle, and last names are discussed. (KR)

Presented is a combinatorial problem based on the Hash House Harriers rule which states that the route of the run should not have previously been traversed by the club. Discovered is how many weeks the club can meet before the rule has to be broken. (KR)

The Directed Inquiry Approach to Learning Science Process Skills and Scientific Problem Solving [DIAL(SPS)2] is described. Concept mapping, advance organizers, Vee diagrams, the theme approach, and focusing are used to help students develop science process skills. (KR)

A demonstration used in a heat and material balances class that explains how a reusable heat pack works is described. An initial homework problem or exam question is provided with its solution. A discussion of the solution is included. (KR)

An approach to teaching electrochemical driving force that helps students comprehend the forces that govern ion flux across biological membranes and sets the stage for more elaborate analysis of biochemical signals is presented. Background information and two sample problems and answers are included. (KR)

Describes a course designed to teach the relationship between science, agronomy, and society. Includes course and class description, course content, and evaluation of the course. (11 references) (MCO)

Two groups of adolescents (n=36) with learning difficulties in mathematics were taught problem-solving skills under two conditions: standard word problems or contextualized problems on videodisc. Both groups improved their performance, but students in the contextualized problem group did significantly better on the contextualized problem posttest…

Describes the guess-and-check method and discusses the advantages of using computers to apply the methods to solve mathematics problems. Provides two examples that use BASIC programs to illustrate the method. (MDH)

Entering a value into a calculator and repeatedly performing a function f(x) on the calculator can lead to the solution of the equation f(x)=x. Explores the outcomes of performing this iterative process on the calculator. Discusses how patterns of the resulting sequences converge, diverge, become cyclic, or display chaotic behavior. (MDH)

Ways in which the standards of problem solving, communication, reasoning, and connections can be incorporated into the elementary geometry curriculum are identified. Visualization of figures, conservation of area, shape and space, and multicultural study are discussed. (KR)