Exploration of collaboration preferences of six mathematically gifted children (ages 11-12) in solving complex, novel problems found collaboration was preferred only when the task was sufficiently challenging. When collaboration was encouraged there was the development of mutual scaffolding, shared cognition, critical thinking, and discernment and…

Discusses potential pedagogical difficulties arising from using physics-related contexts in high-school mathematics problems. Suggests that such problems should not require any external knowledge of physics by the students; meanwhile, the problems should not contradict the physics knowledge that the students may already have. Presents several…

Argues that the changes in the context of engineering requires new approaches within the curriculum and by promoting active learning and encouraging students to experiment and be more creative. eLearning is one of an important number of strategies for achieving the paradigm shift that is required. (Contains 14 references.) (Author/YDS)

Examines many surprising problems that arise in the process of distance education using the Internet and describes ways in which instructors and administrators can solve these problems. Notes that the solutions described are generalizable to other programs using online delivery for instruction. (SG)

Reports two experiments that address effects of differential pre-reading instructions. Suggests that instruction that monitors procedural representations helps readers with foreign language (FL) proficiency to construct situational representations, but is of little help to solve an inference problem. Finds that individuals generate different…

Focuses on mathematics anxiety in 9- to 11-year-old children. Compares the mathematics anxiety of pupils taught in a traditional manner with that of pupils whose teachers adopted an alternative teaching approach that emphasizes problem solving and discussion of the pupil's own informal strategies. Concludes that pupils exposed to the traditional…

Defines restitution restructuring as the creation of conditions for individuals to correct their mistakes and return to the group strengthened. Offers Five Positions of Control as a vehicle for teachers to evaluate themselves: (1) punisher, (2) guiltmaker, (3) buddy, (4) monitor, and (5) manager. (JOW)

This study assessed whether insightful problem solving could be trained, specifically whether solutions to a heterogeneous set of verbal insight problems could be promoted using a training scheme that emphasizes application of mechanisms that underlie the restructuring process. Facilitation effects in five experiments with college students ranged…

Reports on the attempt of a project called "Science: Parents, Activities, and Literature" to get parents productively involved in their children's hands-on science program. Illustrates that (a) parents will become involved and they find their involvement a positive experience; (b) teachers appreciate parents' contributions as an instructional…

Presents activities to supplement the usual diagnostic procedures that middle school math teachers employ at the beginning of the school year to ascertain the math skill levels of their new students. Includes activities related to problem solving, data analysis, estimation, and fractions. (ASK)

Well-designed problem-solving plans have something metal detectors and security cameras lack: proof of success. SARA, an acronym for Scanning, Analysis, Response, and Assessment, was shown to increase school safety in districts in Charlotte, North Carolina, and St. Petersburg, Florida. Program workings are explained. (MLH)

Studied transfer with 60 adults in 4 different computer-based learning environment conditions (simulation of a business with multiple or uniform contexts) for which learners were given either no guidance, problem-solving guidance, or worked-out examples. Results suggest that to optimize learning, learning by problem solving should be combined with…

A problem-based methodology was used to explore why three students withdrew from a transition to postsecondary education program. The method treats dropout as students' solution to a problem and investigates their problem-solving processes, beliefs, motivations, and contextual conditions. For two students, withdrawal was a habitual response to…

Investigated in preschoolers whether the bilingual advantage in cognitive control or selective attention could be found in a nonverbal task, the dimensional change card sort, requiring minimal demands for analysis or representation. Found that bilingual children were more advanced than monolinguals in solving problems requiring high levels of…

Encourages students to use reasoning and quantitative problem-solving skills to discover the solution to an important practical problem related to absolute-value function and statistical median. (ASK)