Past research has suggested that the aggregation of deviant peers during treatment may cause harmful effects (T. J. Dishion, J. McCord, & F. Poulin, 1999). This study compared the effectiveness of problem-solving skills training groups in which all members had conduct problems ("pure" group condition) with groups that consisted of adolescents with…

This research study involved both quantitative and qualitative analysis of elementary teachers' problem-solving skills before and after a focused summer intervention program. Following research-based recommendations for effective professional development, the researchers developed and implemented a program to teach general problem-solving…

This work provides a correlation study of the role of the following cognitive variables on problem solving in elementary physical chemistry: scientific reasoning (level of intellectual development/developmental level), working-memory capacity, functional mental ("M") capacity, and disembedding ability (i.e., degree of perceptual field…

This article discusses the author's experiences with the reflective discipline approach. It concludes that for the author, using this system dramatically reduced classroom discipline problems and acting out no longer garners an amused audience of peers. Finally, and the author finds, perhaps most importantly, this solution teaches children to…

We examined the relation between self-explaining and encoding among kindergartners. For 5 days, children (n = 27) took turns solving addition problems with an adult expert who always used an advanced addition strategy. During the game, children explained the expert's answers (Explain-Expert), explained their own answers (Explain-Novice), or did…

In an exploratory study designed to investigate Shona culture of Zimbabwe's views of giftedness, data were collected from sixteen Zimbabwean academics of Shona cultural background. Using questionnaire narratives, the study established that Shona culture views giftedness as an unusual ability blessed in an individual through ancestry which enables…

A survey instrument developed to measure the perceived performance of the six components of an electronic performance support system (EPSS) and the perceived benefits of EPSS use was mailed to 182 target EPSS co-ordinators. A total of 98 (54.0%) questionnaires were returned. Of these, there were 79 (80.6%) usable surveys. Research results indicate…

As work organizations restructure to remain competitive, problem solving is being pushed down to frontline workers, and emphasis is increasingly placed on workplace learning. In this exploratory, qualitative study, we focus on workers' experiences of problems within the context of their work and how these contexts foster their learning and…

A method for teaching problem-solving skills to mathematics students is presented. By subtly incorporating engineering applications, the students are simultaneously exposed to an effective outreach programme. The process includes offering a complex problem that challenges students' abilities. Before allowing the students to become frustrated, the…

This article describes a set of problem-solving tasks that may provide opportunities for students to make sense of proportional reasoning. (Contains 1 figure.)

This article features NASA's FlyBy Math, a series of six standards-based distance-rate-time investigations in air traffic control. Sixth-grade students--acting as pilots, air traffic controllers, and NASA scientists--conduct an experiment and then use multiple mathematical representations to analyze and solve a problem involving two planes flying…

Genetics is often a fascinating but difficult subject for middle level students. They can see the results of genes in every organism, but trying to visualize what happens at the level of genes is challenging for concrete thinkers. The author discusses an approach that helps students understand how genotypes can translate into phenotypes, then…

Systems biology, metabolomics, metabolic engineering, and other recent developments in biochemistry suggest that future biochemists will require a detailed familiarity with the compounds and pathways of intermediary metabolism and their biochemical control. The challenge to the biochemistry instructor is the presentation of metabolic pathways in a…

Action research involves researchers and practitioners in collaborative projects and provides a means of integrating evaluation into the reform process. (Contains 1 table and 2 figures.)

Teachers can help students build a disposition to use connections in solving mathematical problems, rather than mathematics as a set of disconnected, isolated concepts and skills. One activity that addresses the criteria that involve problem solving, reasoning, communication, and representation that together create a vision that encourages…