Computers are very good at solving certain types combinatorial problems, such as fitting sets of polyomino pieces into square or rectangular trays of a given size. However, most puzzle-solving programs now in use assume orthogonal arrangements. When one departs from the usual square grid layout, complications arise. The author--using a computer,…

The basis of a good mechanical puzzle is often a puzzling mechanism. This article will introduce some new puzzling mechanisms, like two knots that engage like gears, a chain whose links can be interchanged, and flat gears that do not come apart. It illustrates how puzzling mechanisms can be transformed into real mechanical puzzles, e.g., by…

Toys don't belong in the library. That's probably what some people still think. But the author's library outside Philadelphia was having such a hard time attracting boys who had outgrown storytime that he and his colleagues decided to try something new. So his school started a Lego club. Since their June 2008 kickoff, they've been amazed by how…

Two methods are presented for counting small "essentially different" sudoku puzzles using elementary group theory: one method (due to Jarvis and Russell) uses Burnside's counting formula, while the other employs an invariant property of sudoku puzzles. Ideas are included for incorporating this material into an introductory abstract algebra course.…

The ability to examine problems using varied approaches is one of the most important characteristics of good problem solvers. Other characteristics include independence, flexibility in thinking, determination, and a willingness to take risks. By using multiple representations, students are being asked to show the same information in varied ways.…

Digital game-players devote a large amount of their time to discovering rules hidden in the code and discoverable through empirical study, experiments, and developing or rediscovering the mathematical formulae governing the code. They do this through their own independent play as they test areas, gear and abilities, through data mining using…

To help fifth- through eighth-grade students develop their deductive reasoning skills, the author used a ten-week supplementary curriculum so that students could answer logic questions. The curriculum, a series of lessons built around language-independent logic puzzles, has been used in classrooms of fifth through eighth grades. In most cases,…

Individual differences in emotion, cognitions, and task choice following achievement failure are found among four- to seven-year-olds. However, neither performance deterioration during failure nor generalization after failure--aspects of the helpless pattern in 10-year-olds--have been reliably demonstrated in this age group. In the present study,…

Gestalt psychologists proposed two distinct learning mechanisms. Associative learning occurs gradually through the repeated co-occurrence of external stimuli or memories. Insight learning occurs suddenly when people discover new relationships within their prior knowledge as a result of reasoning or problem solving processes that re-organize or…

The author discusses how she made up some dice problems for a child's birthday. She presents some activities that can be used with younger and older children based on dice. (Contains 4 figures.)

The focus of this study is on the role of achievement goals in students' persistence. The authors administered 5 puzzles to 96 college students: 4 unsolvable and 1 relatively easy (acting as a hope probe). They examined whether and how persistence may deteriorate as a function of failing the puzzles, as well as whether and how persistence may…

Our research aims to identify children's communicative strategies when faced with the task of solving a geometric puzzle in CSCL contexts. We investigated how to identify and trace "distributed cognition" in problem-solving interactions based on discursive cohesion to objects, participants, and prior discursive content, and geometric and…

This pilot study with an n-of-1 design examined whether children with a specific language impairment without working memory impairment (SLI), a specific working memory impairment without language impairment (SWMI), or mixed language and working memory impairments (L&WMI) may respond differently to treatment targeting verbal or visuospatial…

A warm-up exercise for the purpose of fostering creativity, imagination and interest is suggested for use in the introductory Management of Information Systems course. Specifically, a series of word scrambles are proposed the solution of which comprises a surprise answer based on a concept in the information systems course textbook. In the first…

Colin is a kindergartener who acted like a three-year-old with an attitude. This author, his kindergarten teacher, had tried visual schedules, positive and negative reinforcement, ignoring disruptive behavior, clear expectations and choices, and nothing was curbing his defiant behaviors. So far, all he had learned was that grown-ups were always…