Examines variations on the classic problem that asks for the fewest number of people so that the probability of two people having the same birthday is at least one-half. Extends the problem to consider the probability of a bridge player having the same hand in a lifetime. (MDH)

Uses projectile motion to explain the two roots found when using the quadratic formula. An example is provided for finding the time of flight for a projectile which has a negative root implying a negative time of flight. This negative time of flight also has a useful physical meaning. (MVL)

Describes Positive Peer Culture (PPC) Program in Omaha (Nebraska) Public Schools, project that invites active involvement of young persons in improving their school and community. Notes that PPC program began 18 years ago and starts teaching problem identification and problem-solving skills to fourth graders. Describes creation of positive peer…

Math teachers who spend most of their time lecturing at a chalkboard or assigning textbook problems are not reaching many students. To achieve math literacy goals, the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics encourages teachers to help students learn to value mathematics, gain confidence in their math abilities, and become good mathematical…

Investigated strategies that 7- to 12-year-old children (n=96) spontaneously applied in solving novel combinatorial problems. With experience in solving two-dimensional problems, children were able to refine their strategies and adapt them to three dimensions. Results on some problems indicated significant effects of age. (Contains 32 references.)…

In a preliminary ethnographic study, the developmental tasks of 23 first-year and 20 fourth-year medical students were assessed with reference to practical problem solving. Findings provide direct support for a relationship between practical intellectual development and life course contexts. (SLD)

Teachers in the southern Maine teachers' network comment on dilemmas they have faced when implementing the Foxfire approach, including realizing their own strengths and weaknesses, achieving a balance between content and process, appropriate teacher intervention, developing student decision-making skills, applicable assessment and evaluation,…

Describes what reflective teaching should look like, offering 12 critical attributes that indicate a teacher's stance toward reflection and 4 assumptions upon which the attributes are based. The paper discusses the utility of the attributes in terms of a research agenda and teacher education program decisions they might inform. (SM)

Describes approaches and benefits of having students make observations and inferences from tracking-pattern diagrams and actual tracks made in sandboxes. (PR)

Comparison of performance in 3 practical problem-solving tasks by eighth graders in Singapore (170 boys, 107 girls matched for aptitude, attitude, and prior knowledge) indicated that girls distinctly preferred content familiarity and outperformed boys in several processes/skills when familiar with content. (SK)

Examines teacher-child interactions in a Reading Recovery program. Finds that teachers with higher student outcomes provided a consistent balance between attention to text-level strategies and letter- or word-level strategies; helped students analyze words using larger chunks of information; and were more specific, more attentive to…

Four considerations for fostering metacognitive development in children who speak languages other than English are (1) bilingual metacognitive development; (2) use of primary language as the language of instruction, with contextualized second-language content; (3) understanding of the sociocultural context; and (4) a problem-solving approach. (SK)

Describes a theoretical framework of distributed representations to explore the representational properties in group problem solving. The experiment shows that different distributed representations across two individuals produced dramatically different group problem-solving behaviors; and two minds could be better than one mind, depending on how…

This activity allows fourth- and fifth-grade students to integrate math, language arts, problem solving, decision-making skills, and art design in the creation of their own business. Includes teacher preparation and a step-by-step guide to the activity. (JOW)

A study of grade 7 boys (n=6) and girls (n=4) investigated how students model ideas while designing and making. Analysis of video recordings identified five differences between modeling as described in the literature and as used by the subjects. The results suggest a need for students to model ideas in three-dimensional form early in the design…