The purpose of this study was to introduce the Mole Solver, a computer based system that facilitates monitors and improves the students' problems solving skills on mole concept. The system has three distinct modes that: i) finds step by step solutions to the word problems on the mole concept ii) enable students' to solve word problems on their own…

Research conducted during the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) and later (Stigler et al. 1999; Stigler and Hiebert 1999) undertook a thorough analysis of lessons in the United States, Japan, and Germany. This article focuses on certain aspects of mathematics lessons in Russia. Specifically, the attempt is made to…

The Educational Leaders in Mathematics (ELM) Project, was an experimental inservice program for teachers of mathematics, grades kindergarten to 12. The major focus on the project was to help teachers develop and implement approaches to mathematics instruction based on a constructivist view of learning. ELM demonstrated the significant impact of…

In this paper three different meanings ascribed to reflective teaching are examined. The first, Cruikshank's Reflective Teaching Model, sees reflective teaching as the ability to analyze one's own teaching practices. Schon's "Reflection in Action," on the other hand, argues that the professional practitioner is one who can think while acting and…

The use of science fiction can be a valuable tool for constructing a highly mental schema in a learner on which to build new learning, to stimulate creative problem solving, and to generate the flexibility needed for adjusting to a rapidly changing, progressively technological society. By using science fiction in a science class, a science teacher…

This monograph reviews the research findings related to study skills and provides a limited number of examples. The monograph emphasizes the relationship of information processing theory to effective teaching and learning, and details the growth of interest in metacognition. It reviews existing programs that teach study skills and discusses the…

The FUTURES program was developed by the Ontario (Canada) Ministry of Skills Development in order to better prepare severely disadvantaged and disabled youth in terms of both academic and job-readiness training. This study sought to construct a portrait of FUTURES students which would contain data readily translatable to counseling and…

A set of teaching and workshop materials has been developed to illustrate the different uses of mathematics in high school mathematics and science classes. It consists of this packet of workshop activities with detailed instructions on how to use them in a combined mathematics-science workshop and a related set of problems (with solutions) that…

This pre-school through grade 12 environmental education learning continuum was designed to help educators with a systematic method which develops an environmental ethic among students. It consists of: (1) preschool through third-grade activities (which stress environmental awareness and sensitivity); (2) intermediate level activities (which give…

The application of recent advances in the understanding of problem solving to the classroom is reviewed. Current research findings are described, and the instructional validity of these findings is illustrated by a research study of an instructional strategy called novice knowledge engineering. How various instructional strategies serve as…

This study investigated the effects of constraining freshmen physics students to follow an expert-like approach in analyzing mechanics problems. A computer-based, problem analysis environment was constructed that allowed novices to actively engage in performing a qualitative analysis of problems according to a hierarchy which combined declarative…

An analysis of informal reasoning and examination of teaching practices looks at ways to improve reasoning skills in college students. Teaching students to reason more effectively is an important but difficult goal of higher education. Reasoning consists of complex skills which must be taught. Effective instruction is based on two key features:…

Three research efforts that used computer-based simulations for maintenance training were in progress when this report was written: Game-Based Learning, which investigated the use of computer-based games to train electronics diagnostic skills; Human Performance in Fault Diagnosis Tasks, which evaluated the use of context-free tasks to train…

The mathematical experiences of elementary students often focus on memorizing facts and rules as opposed to making sense of the subject and developing problem solving skills. Students spend large amounts of time processing, memorizing and sorting collections of data which are tasks well performed by computer technology. To correct this situation,…

This paper identifies two intellectual traditions that dominate professional education, one concentrating on content coverage and one concentrating on the profession's problem-solving processes. It then examines several fields of professional education, some of which have exclusively adopted one or the other of these traditions and some of which…