A spirit of collegiality and productivity flourishes at a Glendale, Arizona, middle school. Staff focus on integrating academic, exploratory, and thematic learning to develop students' cooperative learning and thinking skills. Curriculum connections happen by raising awareness about integrated/interdisciplinary curricula, visiting other schools,…

Described is a solution to the problem and a discussion of a computer estimation of the probability. A computer program written in Turbo Pascal and two sample runs are provided. Computations for a more general problem of this nature and changes in the program necessary for use with Apple Pascal are appended. (CW)

Described is a study in which elementary education students were asked to solve word problems by looking at the mathematical structure or the surface structure of the problems. Included are the methodology, data analysis, results, and discussion. The word problems used in the study are appended. (KR)

Durer's method for drawing an ellipse is used to explain why some people think an ellipse is egg shaped and to show how this method can be used to derive the Cartesian form of the ellipse. Historical background and suggestions for further reading are included. (KR)

Described is a way that elemental mathematics can be applied to explain an astronomical phenomenon. The fact that the extreme of sunrise and sunset do not occur on the shortest or longest days of the year is analyzed using graphs and elementary calculus. (KR)

Surveys admissions deans at accredited law schools as well as speech communication departments in the United States to determine whether undergraduate education in speech communication adequately prepares students for law school. Finds that, although law school admission officials do not support the claim, students ought to view speech…

Describes Camp Tech, a week-long activity that teaches junior high school students to apply technology to problem solving. Each annual Camp Tech has been organized around a different scenario, with each cabin representing world regions and minicorporations, and using technology to "Step into a Book." (DMM)

Presents a distance and time map exercise designed as a crime scenario. Explains that students must determine whether one individual could have committed a series of crimes in a given time period. Includes graph production that gives practice in interpreting and expressing aspects of spatial information. (DK)

The development and structure of 6 interdisciplinary world civilization courses by 14 faculty at San Jose State University are described. The curriculum provides a framework for investigation of common problems facing all cultures, analysis and assessment of attempted solutions, successful and unsuccessful, and evaluation of contemporary attempts…

Discusses the concept of a "literacy of thoughtfulness" for all students, characterized by the ability to think critically and creatively, to solve problems, exercise judgment, access, assimilate, and apply information, and communicate effectively with others. Suggests that thoughtfulness is inescapably bound up with culture. (KEH)

This paper describes student performance and beliefs regarding fractions resulting from a five-phase approach toward developing mathematical intuition via physical materials. Interviews with students using this approach and with students using a conventional textbook approach indicated significant differences in problem-solving abilities and…

The results of an in-depth analysis of the lab activities found in two popular high school biology textbooks are presented. Activities were rated against 24 task categories that parallel skills or behaviors which reflect scientific inquiry, problem-solving skills, manipulative skills, and observational skills. (25 references) (KR)

A teacher describes a Foxfire project in which learning-disabled seven year olds made and sold Christmas cards to help the homeless. Outcomes included improved writing skills, understanding of money and math applications for the elementary students, and positive teaching experiences for high school computer students who assisted. (SV)

Described is a research-based instructional technique for teaching analogical reasoning by the use of guided LOGO programing activities. An example worksheet is provided illustrating the use of the Sternberg's four-step analogical reasoning technique (encode, infer, map, and apply) with LOGO programs. (Author/MDH)

Nineteen fifth and 11 sixth graders given preliminary instruction about a computer-based problem-solving game received additional problem-solving training, problem-solving and self-monitoring training, or no further training. The beneficial impact of the monitoring training is discussed as evidence of the importance of the monitoring strategy in…