How can technology in education affect the workforce and economic development? What kind of leadership will it take to align learning and technology in the 21st century? Can we bridge the gap between education reform, technology, and No Child Left Behind requirements simultaneously? The answers to these and many other related questions were…

This article describes using helium balloons to introduce students to integers and integer arithmetic. (Contains 9 figures.)

This article describes how three algebra problems involving systems of equations can be modeled and solved with manipulative materials or pictorial representation, then the solutions are compared with standard solutions using algebraic symbols. As students begin to use manipulatives and represent their pictures with number sentences, they are…

This study describes a conceptual teaching approach that helps students make connections between their everyday activities and mathematical word problems. It includes a brief review of the importance of teaching for understanding and describes four principles of conceptual teaching: (1) use cooperative groups; (2) allow students enough time to act…

This Brief Report describes a secondary analysis of the solutions written by 306 second-year algebra students to four constructed-response items representative of content at this level. The type of solution (symbolic, graphical, or numerical) used most frequently varied by item. Curriculum effects were observed. Students studying from the second…

This article explores the algebra that can be uncovered in many middle-grades mathematics tasks that, on first inspection, do not appear to be algebraic. It shows connections to the other four Standards that occur in traditional algebra problems, and it offers strategies for modifying activities so that they can be used to foster algebraic…

The National Research Council has suggested that science classes need to become more active and authentic. To help with this effort, Thayer Model Engineering was created several years ago as an inquiry science course at Champlain Valley Union High School in Hinesburg, Vermont. In this school, the students apply the Thayer Model--a four-step…

This laboratory exercise encourages upper level biochemistry students to build and expand upon previously developed laboratory skills and knowledge as they conduct a comparison of two methods of plasmid preparation based upon cost, quality of product, production time, and environmental impact. Besides creating an environment that mimics a more…

Professionals and parents need effective systems of teamwork for planning restorative outcomes with troubled children and youth. This article taps the resilient problem-solving process C*L*E*A*R, which is drawn from the Response Ability Pathways (RAP) curriculum. Participants examine the timeline of Challenges, Logic, Emotions, Actions, and…

Preservice teachers and current teachers alike face daily challenges that necessitate problem-solving skills. Conducting problem solving as a part of a group of professionals and the child's family can be beneficial because it encourages the offering of many perspectives, which allows for better understanding of the problem context. However, a…

The development of conceptual understanding in arithmetic is a gradual process and children may make use of a concept in some situations before others. Previous research has demonstrated that when children are given arithmetic problems with an inverse relationship they can infer that the initial and final quantities are the same. However, we do…

In this article, the author describes a way of motivating learners to solve and reflect upon mathematical problems. The author wanted to find ways to help the Y6 class with their KS2 SATs, but more importantly she wanted to develop their interest and skills in solving mathematical challenges. She spent some time working on the idea of a "…

In this article, the author describes a week of "timely" open-ended lessons with a high ability Y9 group of boys. He gives lessons that would give the students some sense of purpose, as they try to generate a mathematical entity to represent something they used regularly. He states that understanding metric time is something his students…

Traditionally, students learn arithmetic throughout their primary schooling, and this is seen as the ideal preparation for the learning of algebra in the junior secondary school. The four operations are taught and rehearsed in the early years and from this, it is assumed, "children will induce the fundamental structure of arithmetic" (Warren &…

Through a series of interviews with 27 entering, high-risk college students, this study investigated the relation between self-authorship, coping style, and adaptation. Findings suggest high-risk college students enter with self-authored ways of knowing, but self-authorship disappears quickly as students have marginalizing experiences. Subsequent…