Describes an elementary school principal's struggle to obtain parent, staff, and student assistance with problem student behavior at neighborhood bus stops. Instead of personally monitoring bus stops, this principal shared her authority, took some risks, improved her patience and listening skills, identified common goals, and involved many people…

A discussion of ethics in college academic advising looks at four ideals of ethics (utility, justice, respect for persons, and fidelity), proposes eight ethical principles for advising, and applies them in five hypothetical case studies. The principles are suggested for training purposes, not as a code of ethics. (MSE)

Discusses the mathematics education philosophy of J. W. A. Young and how it compares to the principles in the National Council of Teachers of Mathematic's "Curriculum and Evaluation Standards for School Mathematics." Elaborates on Young's views concerning rote learning, establishing connections between mathematics and other disciplines,…

Polynomial algorithms are presented that are used to solve selected problems in test theory, and computational results from sample problems with several hundred decision variables are provided that demonstrate the benefits of these algorithms. The algorithms are based on optimization theory in networks (graphs). (SLD)

Group problem-solving activities were conducted with 58 secondary agriculture students. Interviews with 20 students and 4 teachers found (1) students preferred equal or transactional student/teacher interaction, decision making, and discussion; (2) both preferred consensus and valued mutual respect; and (3) most students were satisfied with their…

Seven principles are presented for improving creative thinking, based on assumptions of creativity as a perceptual shift resulting from a metamorphic mental image. Principles include (1) the future initiates and pulls creative thought; (2) initial fact finding is best postponed; (3) problem redefinition is often retrospective; and (4) metaphors…

Summarizes several creative strategies to increase students' awareness of, and commitment to, constructive values in a classroom setting. These simple exercises include brainstorming and reverse brainstorming, imagining consequences, analogical thinking, empathy, questioning and discussion, and problem-solving approaches. (MLH)

Discusses the influence of culture on four stages of vocational assessment. Reviews the role culture plays in problem clarification, information gathering, understanding the problem, and coping with the problem. Addresses issues in the use of standardized tests across cultures and highlights research on cross-cultural interest assessment. (Author)

Offers heuristic arguments showing that a simple closed curve of specified length that encloses a maximum area must be a circle. Develops the problem by demonstrating that such an n-gon must be convex, that such a convex n-gon must be regular, and that such a simple closed curve must be a circle. (MDH)

Explains how mirroring can help parents respond to their children's problems. Mirroring, which is also called active listening, reflecting, and empathetic listening, involves listening and responding rather than explaining, fixing, and advising. Mirroring can help parents soothe and solve troubling situations by hearing and mirroring what their…

Maintains that criteria development--the process of creating standards against which to measure options--is not an objective process, but a subjective one in which criteria need to be revised in light of available options. Revises E. Banset and G. Parsons' problem-solving heuristic to more accurately reflect this subjectivity. (SR)

A six-step method is presented for using problem-solving activities to promote language acquisition in hearing-impaired students. The method emphasizes the communicative uses of language rather than the structure of language. A list of sample problem-solving activities is included. (JDD)

By carefully watching and listening to his students explain how they solved simple physics problems, one college instructor gained insight into how students visualize problems and developed techniques to help students change perspective more easily. Student metacognitive skills, student confidence, and student-teacher communication have also…

Explains the chaos theory and its effect on education, relating it to quantum physics. The article suggests implications for education (predictions about student achievement are limited, the brain learns in nonlinear ways, and the knowledge base in teacher education needs modification to account for recent discoveries in science and mathematics).…

This article offers suggestions to teachers of hearing-impaired students on teaching basic mathematical problem-solving skills. Eight suggestions include allowing time for problem solving, encouraging persistence, providing open-ended problems, using problems based on student experiences, and using appropriate evaluation strategies. (DB)