Demonstrates how to promote the transference of concepts and principles developed in other curricula to enhance a student's subject matter mastery in soil classification. Describes course format, critical thinking techniques, and a course evaluation. A conclusion and references are included. (Author/RT)

Discusses a unit to teach reasoning and problem solving skills by helping students develop a systematic approach to problem identification, gather and analyze data, arrive at inferences and keep from jumping to conclusions. Describes the development of an activity investigating liquids designed to foster the needed problem-solving skills. (JM)

A third-grade teacher and a teacher educator argue that, in an elementary mathematics class in which the teacher is encouraging the children to communicate and justify their mathematical ideas, the features of a mathematical task shape the mathematical discourse. They conjecture that divergent tasks, problems with many correct answers, may…