Describes the incorporation of health and safety issues into the engineering curriculum and focuses on an approach that introduces students to open-ended problems early in the curriculum. Reports that students are able to provide fresh solutions to mundane problems. (DDR)

When teaching primary mathematics, story problems with themes that are special to children (such as anything to do with animals) work well to develop their numerical reasoning. Children benefit from problem-solving experiences that help develop their number sense. The paper presents an activity for practicing numerical reasoning and offers three…

Metaphors are guiding images that influence one's approach to problem solving. Experiential learning is a process of metaphor change; the task of educators is to facilitate development of new metaphors that generate new potential when old metaphors don't work. Discusses stages of metaphor development, creating an open learning space, and…

Examines the problem solving characteristics, strategy selection and use, and verification actions of African-American eighth-grade students (N=24). Indicates that students displayed approaches attributed to African-American learners, specifically the regular use of holistic reasoning. Concludes that success was correlated highly with strategy…

Presents a study that assesses the implementation of a problem-solving model among teachers involved in an alternative in-service format. Teachers (N=13) participate in a year-long program that focuses on instructional methodology. Contains 60 references. (DDR)

Presents a problem for students in grades 4-6 on Venn diagrams with or without manipulatives. Lists questions for teachers to reflect upon during the problem-solving process concerning student understanding of problems, problem-solving strategies, assessment, and reasoning skills. (ASK)

A study of 261 New Zealand students (ages 6-15) investigating technological capability in undertaking technological problem-solving tasks determined that focus on end-product precluded students from fully considering processes to solve problems, that technological approaches were influenced by classroom culture, and that existing concepts of…

Examines and describes first-grade children's development of strategic processes for detecting and correcting errors, problem solving difficult or novel words, and confirming responses in order to be successful as they participated in Reading Recovery instruction, as opposed to simply increasing "item" knowledge (i.e., identifying more…

Investigates how participants (39 teenagers and 10 college-age online mentors) interacted and constructed shared knowledge of concepts, goals, tasks, procedures, and solutions when solving a real-world problem in an Internet-mediated project-based learning environment (iExpeditions). The main focus of the study was on how different patterns of…

Originally marketed as a personal organizer for mobile business executives and ardent technophiles, the handheld computer is beginning to catch educators' notice. A handful of school districts are piloting large-scale use of these portable devices, ranging in price from $149 to $450. (MLH)

This article summarizes goals for mathematics achievement for all students and proposes a key model for teaching math to students at-risk of failure. The six teeth of the key are labeled: meaningful, explicit, informal, (de)situational, social, and teacher-specific. The lock pins are engagement, foundations, institutions, transfer, cultural…

Reports results from a study of university students in Sweden that investigated aspects of communicative processes using face-to-face and computer-mediated communication. Examined influences of gender on communication equality, social relations, and communicative processes and studied differences in self-awareness. Results showed few significant…

Uses questioning techniques to teach about caloric consumption and weight gain. Starts with defining questions about calories and includes the stages of measuring calories, analyzing data, and conducting inquiry research. Includes directions for the experiment. (YDS)

Examines how school counselors can apply systems theory and social ecology to problem conceptualization and intervention planning. Also explores the implications of this broadened paradigm for the school counselor's role. Asserts that in order to achieve broad-based change, schools, families, and communities must engage in collaborative problem…

Illustrates how a novel problem of chemical equilibrium based on a closely related sequence of items can facilitate students' conceptual understanding. Students were presented with a chemical reaction in equilibrium to which a reactant was added as an external effect. Three studies were conducted to assess alternative conceptions. (Author/SAH)