Counterintuitive moments in the classroom challenge common sense and practice and can be used to help mathematics students appreciate the need to explore, reflect, and reason. Proposed are four examples involving geometry, systems of equations, and matrices as counterintuitive instances. (MDH)

Thirty-six testwise and 41 test-naive high school seniors in British Columbia (Canada) were tested to determine their abilities to apply selected test wiseness principles according to a proposed model of test-taking behavior. To apply the testwiseness strategy, students first needed knowledge of the content tested and test item content. (SLD)

A task force of community and junior college representatives defined and tested the hypothesis that study of the humanities offers students a way to develop certain skills and attitudes including working with others, solving problems, making decisions, and adapting to changes in the workplace. (JOW)

Surveys confirm the prevalence of racism and prejudice in schools and colleges. School executives are offered the following strategy: (1) establish that prejudice will not be tolerated; (2) get students involved; (3) expand contacts between racial groups; (4) offer students training in conflict resolution; and (5) provide staff inservice training.…

Mediation can be an efficient and appropriate process for resolving civil rights complaints. A survey of 36 human relations and civil rights offices in 10 states confirms that mediation is too seldom used, although there is interest in mediation practices. Problem areas in mediation are discussed. (SLD)

Presents a mathematical problem that, when examined and generalized, develops the relationships between power and efficiency in energy transfer. Offers four examples of simple electrical and mechanical systems to illustrate the principle that maximum power occurs at 50 percent efficiency. (MDH)

Presents a study to determine whether computer use in guided-discovery learning episodes would enhance the problem-solving ability of secondary school students (n=147). Results indicate interaction between low- and middle-level students' mathematical achievement and treatment groups, while high-level students performed well regardless of approach.…

Describes a lesson plan for use in physical geography, earth science, and social studies classes. Suggests that students will find the problem solving approach interesting and will use knowledge of earth-sun relationships, absolute location, and place. Includes objectives, two days of learning activities, evaluations, resources, and an activity…

Describes a study that was conducted to determine whether learning to program a computer in Pascal or FORTRAN improved problem-solving skills of college students when compared to a control group and to determine which programing language was more effective in the development of problem-solving abilities. (26 references) (LRW)

Responses of 322 university sophomores (education majors) on an evolution problem "How could the bat have evolved wings?" are analyzed and classified. Concludes that misunderstandings are logical. (PR)

Reviews three studies on the effects of elementary school students' collaboration within the educational computer environments of LOGO, computer-assisted instruction, and computer-based instruction. Concludes that cooperative participation within LOGO fosters effectance motivation, information exchange, and conflict resolution that reflects…

Tested the Watson and Busch model of how children learn LOGO programing. Investigated second- and fifth-grade students' stage of cognitive development, stylistic preferences, and strategy usage. Field-independent children showed a marginal advantage over field-dependent children in learning to program in LOGO. (MM)

Discusses mathematical tasks, classroom environments, and means of assessment that might encourage mathematical growth for middle grades students. Proposes a curriculum emphasizing mathematical connections, reasoning, and problem solving. Describes shifts in the culture of the mathematics classroom that support students' development of…

Kindergarten students' (n=7) thought processes were investigated during a problem-solving task to gain insight into students' problem-solving strategies and to guide students toward a closer awareness of their own mathematical thinking. Outlines some of the processes and problems of implementing a constructivist approach by an experienced teacher.…

A mapping procedure based on the SOLO Taxonomy developmental model was used to classify the problem-solving strategies of students (n=34) in grades K-2. Only one multiplication problem was used to isolate three components of the problem-solving procedure. (MDH)