Argues that the prevailing computer science orientation to data visualizations is severely limited for addressing usability concerns associated with supporting users in three critical problem areas: sophisticated visual literacy, complex data analysis, and new paradigms of visual inquiry. Argues that current object-oriented usability…

Describes how Problem-Based Learning (PBL) was adapted for use in social studies teacher education. Reviews the background of PBL as used in professional faculties, and offers curricular justification for its use. Examines difficulties experienced in adapting PBL to teacher education, taking into account perspectives from prospective teachers and…

Technology offers tools and information that students need to explore real-world mathematical connections and investigate questions reflecting their own interests. This article illustrates how students can use technology to gather and interpret information, perform descriptive and graphical analysis, make statistical predictions, and create and…

Offers a constructivist perspective in considering strategies for managing student behavior, such as severe behavior problems, in elementary school classrooms which include children with special needs. This approach capitalizes on the social context and group problem solving to teach children how to manage their own behavior. Examples are…

A review of literature on problem-based learning (PBL) in medical education focuses on the difficulties inherent in the "problem-based" approach; what the term implies; how it has been characterized and validated; how it relates to problem solving; how it relates to epistemological reform; and what the ground rules are for PBL.…

Describes a high school course, "Material Arts Design," that celebrates materials, creativity, and culture, while concurrently encouraging individual responsibility towards the environment. Explains that the students develop a wide range of technical skills by exploring art and technology and address aesthetic and ecological issues through a…

Examined whether indexes of verbal imprecision could be quantified and used to predict changes in fifth graders' problem-solving performance. Found that four types of verbal imprecision predicted improved performance: false starts and self-repairs, deletions, long pauses, and metacognitive comments. Results suggested that adopting a new approach…

Discusses two approaches to solving word problems that consider the verbal text of the problem, and analyze it to obtain its mathematical expression, as well as its numerical solution. Uses two computerized programs for word problems to capture the various strategies employed by the problem solvers. Contains 21 references. (Author/ASK)

Studies the development of self-regulation in school-aged children's help-seeking behavior within a Vygotskian framework. Hypothesizes that studying two age groups would allow definition of two levels of capacity for self-regulation. Shows that the level of self-regulation depends on both age and academic achievement, with older, high-achieving…

Investigates how different types of achievement goals influence elementary school students' help seeking. Goals were conceptualized on two dimensions: locus of the goal (i.e., personal goals and contextual goals) and emphasis of the goal (i.e., learning goals and performance goals). Interactions among goals and their resultant patterns of help…

Describes the New Mexico High School Supercomputing Challenge, a year-long project sponsored by New Mexico Technet, Los Alamos National Laboratory, and other statewide institutions that engages high school students, teachers, and professionals in complex scientific problem-solving that include written reports, mathematical models, and…

Describes three therapeutic group activities used with adolescents, adults, or families in adventure- and experiential-education settings. Includes target group, group size, time and space requirements, activity level, props needed, instructions, and ideas for post-activity group processing and reflection. Activities involve moving beyond…

Presents evidence for students' qualitative and quantitative difficulties with apparently simple one-dimensional relative-motion problems, students' spontaneous visualization of relative-motion problems, the visualizations facilitating solution of these problems, and students' memories of the online computer simulation used as a framework for…

Presents a problem that requires solving a card problem by exploring patterns that will lead to a logical solution. Involves students in developing and analyzing their own algorithms as well as discussing their reasoning with peers. (ASK)

Introduces puzzles that proved challenging and popular in the Mexican Chemistry Olympiad. Presents data showing that mainstream general chemistry students at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln enjoyed the puzzles and were challenged by them. (WRM)