Four goals of reading instruction are problem solving, securing ideas, achieving state mandated standards, and making decisions. These broad goals provide general direction for teachers in teaching reading. In order to apply reading to problem solving, a teacher may propose a life-like and important problem to students. The pupils then select…

This paper describes changes in students' ideas about science classes, attitudes about science, and motivations for studying science in a classroom designed to support project-based science learning. Findings indicate that providing students with opportunities to collect and analyze their own data in science classes results in a change in…

This booklet summarizes the mathematics chapter from "Handbook of Research on Improving Student Achievement", published by the Educational Research Service (ERS). The Handbook is based on the idea that, in order to succeed, efforts to improve instruction must focus on the existing knowledge base with respect to effective teaching and learning. The…

This paper presents an inquiry into teaching and learning practices in a Year 11 mathematics class at a private college for girls in Western Australia, studying a topic on vectors. The focus is on learning through problem-solving, where students used graphics calculators as a matter of routine. Constructivist and sociocultural theories were…

This issue of ENC Focus focuses on the topic of inquiry and problem solving. Featured articles include: (1) "Inquiry in the Everyday World of Schools" (Ronald D. Anderson); (2) "In the Cascade Reservoir Restoration Project Students Tackle Real-World Problems" (Clint Kennedy with Advanced Biology Students from Cascade High…

"Active Citizenship Today" (ACT) is a service learning program for the social studies. There are two things that make ACT different from other service learning programs: (1) the "learning" in service -- learning refers to traditional social studies content and skills (it is a civics model); and (2) ACT is built around a problem-solving framework.…

This study examined the effectiveness of problem-based learning (PBL) in a foundational teacher education course at Alabama's Samford University. It measured students' attitudes within the university and in the teacher education course. All undergraduate students were asked to complete a "Student Attitude and Activities Assessment…

This manual presents an 18-step program designed both to teach parents the skills they need to manage difficult adolescent behavior and to improve family relationships overall. Steps 1 through 9 modify the approach presented in Russell Barkley's earlier edition, "Defiant Children," to focus on developmental concerns of adolescence. Clear…

This paper describes the transfer of skills and knowledge from the classroom to outside the classroom. The action research focused on transfer, how to facilitate transfer, and why to concentrate on transfer, and it included a definition for the different levels and rates of transfer. Seventh and eighth grade students were not using existing…

A model of in-service teacher training was designed to facilitate staff receptivity, and to help redirect teachers away from a problem view of students' behaviors and towards a solution-focused perspective. The model helps orient teachers to an ecological view of students' problem behaviors. The solution-focused perspective means teachers approach…

This study examines the changes in students' conceptual thinking and problem solving abilities. Conceptual thinking skills and problem solving abilities are important factors for medical school applicants as diagnosis and treatment procedures strongly depend on these skills. Underrepresented minorities in medicine is a concern in United States,…

Theories of development in childhood maintain that equality plays an important role in peer interactions during middle childhood. One particular situation that can provoke problems is the request for help. Helping is not an easy situation because an individual's need for something creates an imbalance which children try to avoid. This study…

This paper discusses caring relationships and their importance in supporting student learning, examining a study conducted at a public elementary school. The first section describes a theoretical context for care in the school community and argues for its presence in capturing the essence of school reform. It explores one component of care,…

Paper presented at the Fifteenth Duke University Conference on Teaching the Social Studies.