A study of 74 undergraduates examined whether creativity training and interpersonal problem-solving training are equivalent or complementary. Results showed the training programs were complementary. Each training program specifically affected performance only on related measures of performance. A combination of the training programs affected both…

Academic Systems Corporation is successfully producing courseware in beginning, intermediate, and college algebra using mediated learning, which provides students with instruction and exercises and teachers with feedback on student progress. The courses present students with real-world problems to solve. Users find the courses pedagogically sound…

Explores parent perceptions of education, mathematics education, teachers' roles in education, and computers in education. The use of interviews and a survey is explained; results of a factor analysis are discussed, including responsibility and problem-solving factors; and implications for educational policy are suggested. (LRW)

Discusses the process of learning to construct and interpret representations from a social practice perspective. If students need to construct tables and graphs to complete a project report in mathematics or science, they can learn to consider whether these forms are effective at communicating important information. If students merely complete…

Describes a game used in precalculus that builds interest and confidence in the uses of inverse functions. The game is preceded by a worksheet that enables students to discover that f(x) and f-1(x) are mirror images of the line y=x. (DDR)

Explains the need for scientific and technological literacy, the role of supplementary teaching materials specifically created for this purpose, and the successes and difficulties in creating teaching materials in a workshop. Concludes that science teaching today is not designed to promote literacy and does not assist students in becoming the…

Studied the sociocultural context in which Brazilian children acquire and use everyday mathematics in terms of currency use. Participants were 105 children, ages 4 to 11, and their parents. Found decreased use of currency with increasing age. Children also used currency to aid their problem solving and progressed from global estimates to the…

This clip and send-home feature provides suggestions for parents to help students cope with frustration at school and throughout their lives include reviewing previous coping skills, emphasizing larger goals, and modeling fairness and communication. The paper recommends that parents never criticize teachers in front of students, take student's…

A study investigated whether medical school faculty can arrive at consistent, non-idiosyncratic grades in a problem-based learning course. Analysis of grades given by three teachers, based on seven performance categories, to 16 groups of nine students in a seven-week University of Pittsburgh (Pennsylvania) course revealed that given specific…

Outlines benefits of and skills involved in problem solving. Details how an environment rich in materials that foster cause-and-effect or trial-and-error explorations promote cognitive development among toddlers. Offers examples of problem-solving experiences and lists materials for use in curriculum planning. Describes the teacher' role as one of…

Explains that primitive living structures furnish real-world problems that are solvable using mathematics and computer-modeling techniques. (KHR)

Presents an activity that provides a way to cover the complex topic of mass spectrometry and connects with a discussion of the 2002 Nobel Prize in chemistry. (DDR)

Suggests ways early years educators can begin teaching young children to think algebraically and prepare them for success in algebra. Focuses on ways to promote mathematical patterns, mathematical situations and structures, models of quantitative relationship, and change. Describes how first-graders used real object representations to better…

Investigates the arithmetical and algebraic problem-solving strategies and skills of preservice primary and secondary school teachers in Flanders, Belgium. Compares aspects of preservice teachers' own problem-solving behavior with the way in which they evaluated students' arithmetical and algebraic solutions to problems. Discusses teachers' use of…

Presents the results of three experiments in which high school students constructed their own analogous problems. Focuses on utilizing instructional strategies to encourage analogous transfer using word problems in basic probability. Discusses the skills the students who used the analogical strategy could perform. Includes references. (CMK)