Children's literature can provide a context in which young children can explore mathematical concepts in a meaningful way. This article highlights how young students in first-grade classrooms used stories about their families and pets to create and solve mathematical problems in a motivating, meaningful way. (SM)

Evaluation by 17 students of a case-based instructional method in 1 course of a dental hygiene baccalaureate curriculum found statistically significant student preference for the case-based format except in regard to students' preparation for written examinations. (DB)

Describes a study conducted in a Hong Kong primary school that compared the effects of learning LOGO programing with a process-oriented approach and a content-oriented approach to problem-solving skills. Transfer of training to nonprograming problem solving is discussed, and instruments used to assess students are explained. (33 references) (LRW)

Interviews with 72 mixed ability students, aged 7 to 12, about arithmetic problem-solving strategies, indicated that the preference between procedural and deductive strategies becomes a divergent reality across ability levels. Among the conclusions is that more able children tend to be doing a qualitatively different sort of mathematics than their…

Described are activities within extended problem-solving settings which allow middle school mathematics students, particularly at-risk students, to determine applications for a wide range of mathematical processes and concepts. Emphasis is on reality-based projects which often require more than one step as preparation for future consumer…

Connections between science and mathematics are emphasized in a series of activities related to the heart. Worksheets designed for multiple grade levels investigate (1) How Big Is Your Heart? (levels K-2); (2) Every Beat of Your Heart (levels 3-4); (3) What's the Beat? (level 5-6), and Heartifacts (level 7-8). Extensions of the activities are…

Performance assessment, a method that makes possible the assessment of multiple dimensions of students' progress, including dispositions, is described. Criteria for good performance tasks are given, and their structure is illustrated through an example. A list of 10 dispositions toward mathematics and a self-evaluation group-performance rating…

Suggests that educational reform efforts, such as the back-to-basics movement, leave art educators wondering whether visual arts instruction will survive the reforms. Argues that the three Rs are insufficient for a balanced education. Asserts that the arts foster both affective and cognitive development. (KM)

The case method of teaching law was designed for a scholarly, not practical purpose. Because the main purpose of legal education today is to train lawyers, the problem method should be used as the primary strategy in the standard large class and core course in every year of law school. (MSE)

Presents a literary review of the positions held concerning a central population issue, development within the ecosphere. Explores concerns posed by contemporary academic economists and ecologists. Suggests that demographers see the issue as an important area of research needing the expertise of several disciplines. (143 references) (MCO)

A sociometric rating scale and a measure of social problem-solving skills were administered to 61 Chinese kindergartners. In comparison to Canadian children examined in an earlier study, Chinese children were less accepting of each other, less prosocial, and more authority oriented in social problem solving. (BC)

Presents a hands-on mathematics task that can be investigated experimentally to produce a sequence of numbers. Describes ways to extrapolate values of the table of numbers by formulating and verifying a conjecture related to the pattern in the numbers. (MDH)

Introduces and discusses ideas and issues relevant to the international unification of scientific and technical information (STI) through development of an international aerospace database (IAD). Specific recommendations for improving the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Aerospace Database (NAD) and for implementing IAD are given.…

Through two surveys of nature and environmental centers throughout the United States, the author compares the centers' expressed goals with the goals of environmental education. These goals were determined by an accepted behavior model that is considered conducive to environmentally responsible behavior. (17 references) (MCO)

Discusses the first session and events from other sessions of a mathematics circle consisting of the author and four preschool children. Presents discussions that ensued with the children when asked to solve problems related to Piaget's stages of cognitive development. (MDH)