This paper is a critique of problem-based learning and focuses on, first, the concept of life as problem-governed and professional practice as problem-solving; and, second, the utility of problem-based learning as a pedagogical approach in pre-professional training. The paper suggests that a problem-based approach to professional education is…

This paper reports on five related studies on upper elementary school students' beliefs about the role of real-world knowledge in solving mathematical word problems, and on possibilities of overcoming their unrealistic mathematical modeling. Findings from the first study of 75 Belgian fifth-grade students showed that as a consequence of current…

In a climate of rapid change, increasing innovation, and proliferating knowledge, lifelong learning is an important educational objective. Lifelong learning skills need to be developed if educators intend for their students to stay current in their fields. Staying abreast of new innovations, research, techniques, and information is a prerequisite…

A program for national educational evaluation was established in Sweden in 1989. In 1992, a second data collection was carried out. The program is designed to serve national and local purposes of evaluation. One concept that has been emphasized strongly is an "explorative way of working." Evaluating an explorative way of working is a…

Crisis management is an all-too-frequent element of being a day care director. This guide is intended to help day care administrators not only to survive such events but to cope in ways that have been proven to be successful program enhancements. The guide is divided into five major sections covering the most important areas of director…

This teacher training module presents the Student Membership Snapshot (SMS) system, a problem solving approach for teachers responding to increasing student diversity. The first chapter describes student diversity in learning styles, curricular outcomes, and social connections. The next chapter details the three steps of the SMS process:…

The call for educational reform has caused mathematics curriculum, instruction, and assessment to come under both professional and public scrutiny. The three elements contesting for leadership in assessment reform are the conventional testing agencies, reformers led by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM), and political agencies…

The cognitive processes students use in doing the 1996 science assessment of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) were studied using two booklets from the 1993 NAEP science field test. Blocks of items from these booklets, a hands-on task block and either a conceptual/problem solving block or a theme block, were administered to 16…

This publication is designed to provide teachers with Grade 4 activities in mathematics that match the requirements of the North Carolina Standard Course of Study. The Grade 4 Mathematics Standard and related competency goals and objectives from the North Carolina Standard Course of Study and Mathematics Teacher Handbook are reproduced in the…

This book provides activities to introduce or reintroduce students to conflict resolution skills in a deliberate, enjoyable fashion and to elevate their awareness of each person's responsibility to create a cooperative environment wherever they may be. Interdependence is a central theme as is the awareness that dissent and conflict are natural and…

This paper contends that much of the time and money devoted to standardized testing in the United States is misspent. Too many tests are poorly constructed, unreliable, and unevenly administered. Multiple-choice tests cannot measure thinking skills or real problem-solving ability. In addition, many examinations are biased racially, culturally,…

The Thinking Mathematics project, a joint effort of the American Federation of Teachers and the Learning Research and Development Center, had the primary objective of developing more efficient means of disseminating new knowledge about mathematics learning and instruction. The resulting practitioner-researcher collaboration developed an…

This booklet is one in a series on different education topics intended to help parents make the most of their child's natural curiosity and become an integral part of reaching the National Education Goals as set forth by the President and governors in 1990. The book suggests ways that parents can generate interest in mathematics in children aged…

This guide provides a rationale and approach for translating Howard Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences into classroom practice. Chapter 1 explains Gardner's theory and gives the definitions of the seven intelligences he identifies: verbal/linguistic, musical/rhythmic, logical/mathematical, visual/spatial, bodily/kinesthetic, intrapersonal,…

An evaluation was conducted of the development of those transferable and personal skills which had been given particular prominence by the Technical and Vocational Education Initiative (TVEI) in Scotland. Questionnaires were sent to the following: pupils and TVEI coordinators in 80 secondary schools; 30 school leavers from one further education…