Describes a method for identifying how families organize and proceed through the problem-solving process. Method uses new behaviors as markers to identify the beginning and ends of qualitatively different periods of problem-solving interaction. Testing of 40 family groups revealed an orderly, rather than a random, sequencing of problem solving.…

Describes a student's work on a word problem after which she was very comfortable with her answer but her work was not correct. Discusses symbol sense, goals for students, and how tasks can be used to help meet those goals. (KHR)

Discusses various ways of representing arrangements of tightly packed circles and poses questions concerning related functions and problems. (KHR)

A fun logic game to introduce several classes of sixth-graders to advanced mathematical thinking allows even students who previously fared poorly in math to arrive at the destination with their peers. (Author/MLF)

The reform mathematics curricula present students with problems that cannot be solved using routine methods. Addresses questions about problem solving by considering one seventh-grade teacher's first-person description of an attempt to teach algebra problem solving. (Author/MLF)

Describes the result of implementing the Problem List Generator, a computer-based tool designed to help clinical pathology veterinary students learn diagnostic problem solving. Findings suggest that student problem solving ability improved, because students identified all relevant data before providing a solution. (MES)

Presents the stair skipping problem to foster improved communication among mathematics teachers. (KHR)

Examined interdependent and disengaged friendships in a middle-class sample of suburban Israeli adolescents for differences in reports on conflict behavior. Found that older adolescents reported more conflicts over private disrespect than younger adolescents; younger adolescents reported more conflict over public disrespect and undependability…

Compares the problem-solving skills required for solving well-structured problems and ill-structured problems in the context of an open-ended, multimedia problem solving environment in astronomy. Assesses students' abilities in solving these problems with two sets of open-ended questions. Concludes that solving well-structured and ill-structured…

Explains a strategy called "What Do I 'S'ee? What Do I 'T'hink? What Do I 'W'onder?" (STW) which helps students look carefully at pictures in storybooks and think about a story's character, setting, and events. Notes that the STW strategy provides opportunities for students with varying reading abilities and diverse experiences to work together…

Notes the ability to imagine is considered the gift of authors and illustrators whose books inspire readers. Highlights 38 works of children's literature that show how imagination can inform and excite both readers and characters. Concludes that through creative envisioning, poets, authors, and llustrators propel readers to relate the familiar to…

Presents a polylogue that represents the dilemmas, practicalities, tensions, and rewards encountered by four graduate students and two faculty members through participation in a seminar in qualitative methods and practice, a course that involved student-researchers in reading, reflection, and five weeks of fieldwork. Includes "prologues" for each…

Examined the effects of question prompts and peer interactions in scaffolding undergraduate students' problem-solving processes in an ill-structured task in problem representation, developing solutions, making justifications, and monitoring and evaluating. Qualitative and quantitative results suggest that the peer interaction process must be…

Presents results of preliminary trials that suggest that the program devised helped UK Year 12 (A-level) learners develop useful concepts of current and voltage, acquire a more integrated understanding of circuit behavior, and overcome their tendencies towards localized and sequential reasoning. Provides learners with a valuable aid for problem…

Considers the potential of reform-oriented curricula to promote equity. Presents two studies in which middle school and high school teachers using reform-oriented mathematics curricula achieved a reduction in linguistic, ethnic, and class inequalities in their schools. Suggests relational analyses of equity as critical to go beyond the curriculum…