This article describes one seventh-grade teacher's classroom efforts to integrate traditional exercises from different content areas to form more robust questions that provide genuine problem-solving opportunities for students. These exercises are illustrated by connecting the Pythagorean theorem with a variety of prealgebra topics. Since the…

"Dora the Explorer" is a twenty-three-minute television program for preschoolers viewed by millions every day in many countries. These programs are also marketed as videotapes and DVDs. This seven-year-old Latina, bilingual cartoon character teaches many things by interacting with the young viewers. On every program Dora and friends have to go…

In a study to assess how effectively undergraduate physics studies have prepared students for the workplace, we attempted to locate and interview traditional 3-year or 4-year physics students who had graduated in the past five years (2000 to 2004), and the employers of these graduates. The study was limited to recent graduates who have majored in…

Using sticky notes and number lines, a hands-on activity is shared that anchors initial student thinking about absolute value. The initial point of reference should help students successfully evaluate numeric problems involving absolute value. They should also be able to solve absolute value equations and inequalities that are typically found in…

This article addresses the issues of coaching and assessing. A preservice middle school teacher's unique solution to the Pizza problem was not what the professor expected. The student's solution strategy, based on sequences and a reinvention of Pascal's triangle, is explained in detail. (Contains 8 figures.)

The purpose of this study was to explore patterns of difficulty in 2 domains of mathematical cognition: computation and problem solving. Third graders (n = 924; 47.3% male) were representatively sampled from 89 classrooms; assessed on computation and problem solving; classified as having difficulty with computation, problem solving, both domains,…

The authors examined the impact of manipulative-based instruction on 2 independent cohorts of preservice elementary teachers. In Study 1, 50 participants engaged in problem solving with operations on whole numbers and fractions using concrete and representational manipulatives over 5 classes. Pre- to posttest performance on a mathematics survey…

A central theme of the "National Science Education Standards" is teaching science as an inquiry process, allowing students to explore an authentic problem using the tools and skills of the discipline. Research indicates that more active participation by the student, which usually requires higher-order thinking skills, results in deeper learning.…

Studies report that students often fail to consider familiar aspects of reality in solving mathematical word problems. This study explored how different features of mathematical problems influence the way that undergraduate students employ realistic considerations in mathematical problem solving. Incorporating familiar contents in the word…

This proceedings volume of InCoTEPD 2018 covers many ideas for handling a wide variety of challenging issues in the field of education. The outstanding ideas dealing with these issues result in innovation of the system. There are many innovation strategies resulting from recent research that are discussed in this book. These strategies will become…

Needs assessment is the first step in developing a leadership education program. During the spring of 2008 researchers and program planners conducted focus groups sessions with representatives from Virginia's agricultural community with the goal of assessing the leadership development interests and needs of that community. As one focus group…

Although the theoretical benefits of feedback are generally well established, in practice those benefits can be less than clear. This is particularly the case on shorter courses, where students have limited scope to integrate feedback into future assessment performance. If we accept that one of the key purposes of feedback is to encourage students…

This article reports the findings of a study examining independent variables that contributed to the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) achievement of students with reading difficulties who participated in a technology-enhanced astronomy curriculum. The curriculum incorporated key elements of the Universal Design for Learning…

In this dissertation, I present my attempts at designing an elementary mathematics methods course to support prospective teachers in developing an understanding of how to teach all students in learning powerful mathematics. To do this, I introduced them to teaching mathematics for equity and social justice by discussing ways to support students'…

This study's purpose was to explore effectiveness of alternate format in-service delivery for what teachers needed to know to effectively teach their students with Autism Spectrum Disorder/High Functioning Autism/Asperger Syndrome (ASD/HFA/AS) in the general education setting. The study's research questions included: Did participants learn…