Fencers should be taught to discipline their eyes to focus on the opponent's hand. The rationale for this strategy as well as drills to develop "hand watching" skills are presented in this article. (IAH)

Presents a device for sketching the graph of the composite and inverse of single variable real-valued functions. Discusses some didactic methods of paths. (YP)

Describes a unit of study for poetry which draws an analogy between the delivery of verbal images of poems and the visual images in rock music videos. Reports that students were able to see imagery in poems and to reflect images into meaning. (KEH)

A study involving 477 female and 501 male fifth through eighth graders was conducted to investigate the differences in spatial visualization abilities and effects of instruction on spatial visualization skills of students by grade and sex. Instruction in visualization proved effective across grade and sex; retention of effects persisted after one…

Discusses a concept-oriented calculus course as an alternative to a traditional skill-oriented calculus course. Two main ideas of conceptual calculus are visual conceptualization and receptive argumentation. Includes typical examination questions. (14 references) (MKR)

A rational model of human categorization behavior is presented that assumes that categorization reflects the derivation of optimal estimates of the probability of unseen features of objects. A case is made that categorization behavior can be predicted from the structure of the environment. (SLD)

Reports results of two studies using physics materials to determine the parameters of pictorial analogies in combination with expository text. Shows that pictorial analogies can improve learning significantly if they are designed properly and used together with the text. Concludes that the analogies should have high structural similarity between…

Discusses and examines two approaches to concept-based retrieval of hypermedia information that improve a user's ability to navigate large systems--term indexing with semantically coupled thesauri and semantic hyperindexing. Visualization of index structures is discussed, and an example, the Cube of Contents retrieval model for the "Active…

The study, with 15 language-learning-disabled and 15 normally achieving children (ages 6-8), found a significant positive correlation between the severity of the language disability and accuracy on 2 of 3 imagery tasks. Performance on one imagery task was significantly related to reading achievement, and imagery ability was related more strongly…

Argues for a mathematics education that interprets the word "theorem" in a sense that is wide enough to include the visual aspects of mathematical intuition and reasoning. Defines the term "visual theorems" and illustrates the concept using the Marigold of Theodorus. (Author/MDH)

Presents a tested hypothesis raised by an earlier study and confirmed that query-surrogate documents chosen from within dense interdocument structures in scaled and visualized TREC Topic document data sets increased the number of relevant documents retrieved by 26-46%. Performance of information retrieval systems on data sets for which relevant…

Describes a low-cost activity designed to help students visualize both the kinetic and the stoichiometric nature of chemical reactions at the particle level, by creating a flip book. Suggests ideas for evaluation of student work, and extension activities. (WRM)

Argues that mental timelines for learning history are analogous to mental mapping for learning geography: both visually represent abstract concepts. Describes the construction of a classroom timeline and activities for fifth- and sixth-grade students that incorporate the use of timelines. Notes reasonable expectations for student progress at this…

Considers cognitive development in mathematics and its relationship to computer technology with special emphasis on the use of visual imagery and symbols and the later shift to formal axiomatic theories. Presents empirical evidence to show how these forms of thinking are enhanced, changed, or impeded by the use of technology. (Contains 36…

Considers five ways to overcome barriers teachers face when they attempt to create thinking classrooms: (1) acquisition of conscious commitment; (2) legitimization of students' experiences; (3) integration of visualizing into the curriculum; (4) use of reflective analysis; and (5) diversification of perspectives. (SR)