Problem-based learning has in recent times aroused keen curiosity due to its pedagogical orientation of facilitating students' active construction of knowledge. As a curriculum model it is designed based upon the solving of either simulated or real-life problems that generally tend to be ill-structured and open-ended. In such a model students are…

The results of previous educational research raise some questions about the efficacy of conventional teaching strategies and point to a need for using teaching strategies that explicitly take into account misconceptions students bring to the classes or acquire during the teaching-learning process. Accordingly, this article presents efforts to…

This study investigated the effectiveness of Modified Cognitive Strategy Instruction in Writing (CSIW) with mildly mentally retarded students' skills in writing problem/solution texts. Participants were from two self-contained and multiage classrooms in Turkey. Instruction had a positive impact on the amount of time students spent planning and…

Problem-based learning (PBL) uses adult-learning theory to structure the instructional process around presentation of a problem. Learning events emulate real-life situations as closely as possible. This paper describes how two middle schools and one high school implemented a structured staff-development approach aimed at teaching teachers how to…

Problem-based learning (PBL), often used in medical education, is an educational approach that organizes curriculum and instruction around carefully crafted "ill-structured" problems, to which students apply knowledge from multiple disciplines and critical thinking. PBL is being investigated as a teaching approach for elementary and middle…

In supervising counselors who are called upon to function as classroom teachers, a solution-focused intervention model can be effectively adapted to the supervision. In general, solution-focused models emphasize strengths and successes over weaknesses and problems. In the context of supervision, a solution-focused model assumes that supervisees…

A project is an extended, in-depth investigation of a topic, ideally one worthy of children's attention and energy. This catalog, prepared for an annual meeting of the National Association for the Education of Young Children, combines articles explaining the project approach in the classroom with summaries of projects displayed at the meeting. It…

Science teachers need to select tenets from the philosophy of education which stress student attainment of vital context, abilities, and attitudes. This paper discusses diverse schools of philosophical thought in terms of how each might relate to improving the science curriculum. For example, a science teacher who is a realist emphasizes that one…

This study followed one preservice teacher, Liz, as she progressed through her senior year of a secondary mathematics education program that illustrated and encouraged views congruous with the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) "Standards." At the start of the program Liz saw her role as one in which it was her…

Teaching critical thinking, a relatively new area and concept in physical education, can take the form of problem solving--the development and presentation of physical and mental problems that challenge students to reach a solution. Providing students with conceptually well-defined and designed problems can give physical education teachers an…

Art education combined with the sciences can be a leading force in raising the consciousness of students and teachers to the needs of our fragile planet. By teaching environmental aspects to the visual arts curriculum, we will also be teaching that one of the similarities we all share is the need for beauty. The sciences have traditionally carried…

This study compared the effects of personal characteristics and teaching practices in the development of professional competencies by undergraduate engineering students. A survey completed by 480 engineering students gathered information concerning students' personal, academic, and demographic characteristics; characteristics of their current…

This conference proceedings volume for PME-NA-XIX contains a total of 87 reports: one plenary session report; 39 research reports; 20 short oral reports; 25 poster session reports; and two discussion group reports. Only the plenary and research reports are full reports; the others are generally one-page abstracts. The full reports include: (1)…

This teacher's curriculum guide is designed to help high school teachers guide students to develop a better understanding of difficult issues raised by questions of justice. It is hoped that the ideas, observations, questions, and procedures students learn in the curriculum will help them to make informed decisions about how to promote justice and…

Interdisciplinary curriculum is a methodology that can help students gain the necessary content knowledge to support the following basic skills: (1) using language well and thoughtfully; (2) thinking through a problem and experimenting with solutions; (3) understanding scientific and technological ideas and using tools; (4) using imagination; (5)…