Federal student assistance has become a tangled thicket of programs and policies. It is complicated, fails to focus benefits on the neediest students, and is increasingly expensive. Complexity and cost, grants or loans, who should benefit from student assistance and who should pay, and reshaping student aid are discussed. (MLW)

Recommendations of commission reports on improving quality in public education are seen as primarily political statements reflecting the public outrage over the declining quality of American schooling. If the recommendations for sharpening basic skills spill over into higher education, there will be pressure to make colleges into trade schools.…

Discusses the development of problem-oriented mathematics materials for a wide variety of students. Materials include teaching guides, student materials, case studies in mathematical modeling, and project activities. Examples of these materials (including a sports-related activity for students who have not had success in mathematics) are provided.…

John Dewey's theory of reflective thought as presented in "How We Think" (1983) was analyzed. Components and relationships in the processes of reflective thought and teaching people to think effectively were identified. Implications of the research are discussed. (Author/RM)

Presents research on cognitive skills demanded by elementary and secondary school mathematics textbooks, based on an original 10-level classification of thinking activities; reports a general decline both in the amount of material demanding student involvement and in the percentage of that material requiring higher-order thinking. (MCG)

A real-life problem involving a greenskeeper needing to know the area of golf greens is presented, with solutions using a scale drawing, Maple's methods, and Heron's formula. Methods are checked with a computer and discussed mathematically. Three computer program listings are included. (MNS)

This Texas Tech University computer literacy course designed for preservice elementary and middle school mathematics teachers lacking a technological orientation facilitates their computer introduction through preliminary use of calculators. Course development, philosophy, and course segments are outlined with emphasis on the sequence in which…

Argues that the computer will make a major difference because it places within one total environment that teaches (the school) another total environment that teaches (the computer). A hopeful sign is the growing number of educational computer programs that use the computer effectively as a mind-tool rather than an instructional medium. (BBM)

Curriculum deliberation is an approach to constructing, operationalizing, and evaluating curricula. The essay describes the deliberative format, discusses habits that impede deliberation, and makes suggestions for the amelioration of these habits. (RM)

This study examined microcomputer use by individual students and groups of two, three, and five seventh- and eighth-grade students to discover any relationship existing between group size and achievement of a correct problem solution, and whether there is a relationship between group size and time to solution. (MBR)

Discussion of changes in science education and scientific literacy is presented in the form of a dialog between the author and his alter ego. Structure of science, myths, facts, methods, and critical rationality are considered. Suggests that scientific principles once considered basic and unchanging are giving way to critical thinking. (DH)

Presents results of five experiments on human information-seeking behavior in different online information-seeking environments which studied search strategies and assessed information value in realistic search environments. A conceptual model of how humans value information is presented. Empirical and modeling results are considered for…

A needs assessment document, that describes in detail what an advancement program will require of its computer support system, is discussed. This document can create a framework for planning, help force decisions about policies and procedures, and present alternatives and recommendations to senior management. (MLW)

With a standard geoboard, five pegs by five pegs, how many different triangles can be formed using a single rubber band with the pegs serving as vertices? Discusses ways to solve this problem and offers related problems and some pedagogical considerations (particularly for the teaching of geometry and problem solving). (JN)

The problem-solving skills of logical thinking, critical thinking, visualization, and communication skills are linked with some activities for students. Sample activities with logic, strategies and patterns, breaking fixed notions, open-minded problems, spatial visualization, and communication are described. (MNS)