This study of fourth-grade students and teachers explores mathematics teaching and learning that focuses on discovering and modeling algebraic relationships. The study has two parts: an investigation of how students learn to construct algebraic statements and models for comparisons and measurement situations in the multiplicative domain, and an…

This study addressed predictors of the development of word problem solving (WPS) across the intermediate grades. At beginning of 3rd grade, 4 cohorts of students (N = 261) were measured on computation, language, nonverbal reasoning skills, and attentive behavior and were assessed 4 times from beginning of 3rd through end of 5th grade on 2 measures…

Describes a teaching experiment conducted with fourth grade students in field of experience of gears. Identifies characteristics which, given suitable sequence of tasks and proper teacher guidance, have enabled pupils to approach theoretical thinking. Presents early findings of the teaching experiments at the external level of interpersonal…

Argues that skepticism is the force that keeps inquiry in motion. Describes how two fourth-grade classes' ongoing investigations of birds fostered a skeptical stance. Relates stories from these classrooms to illustrate three strategies that support learning to be skeptics: examining knowledge in context; challenging the assumptions of models; and…

Analyzes the structure of argumentative discourse produced when small groups of children discuss issues raised by stories they have read, examining the discourse from story discussions in two fourth-grade classrooms. Compares and contrasts two approaches of representing the structure of classroom arguments (the argument network and the causal…

This report describes a program for increasing the thinking skills of fourth grade students in one classroom in northern Illinois. Both objective and subjective data gathering found that students experienced difficulty in relating and applying facts and concepts on tasks requiring more sophisticated thinking. Solution strategies combined with an…

Three earlier published reports (Erland, 1999c, 1999d, 1998) of a two school (Schools 1 & 2), 14 classroom, grades 4-8 study, reported large gains evidenced by the Brain-Based-Accelerated Learning (AL) application of The Bridge To Achievement (BTA). Eleven BTA/AL experimental groups were compared with two control groups from School 2 having an…

Effects of the Future Problem-Solving Program on the ability of 29 gifted fourth graders and 32 gifted fifth graders to solve futuristic problems similar to those used in the program were studied. Results indicate a significant effect of the program on solution of this type of problem. (SLD)

Discussion of project-based learning focuses on a study that examined if being hypermedia designers could have an effect on fourth graders' motivation and learning of design knowledge. Results show enhanced motivation, and the development of design knowledge and higher-order thinking skills, including collaboration and time management. (Author/LRW)

Assesses the combined effects of goal setting and different types of comparative information on fourth-grade students' (N=84) self-efficacy and fraction skill, particularly within a Taiwanese classroom. Results reveal that children in the self-referenced groups demonstrated significantly higher fraction skill and self-efficacy than did children in…

This study examined the effects of specially designed thinking journal activities that have been attributed with encouraging reflective thinking, on instruction using generic, or content-free, problem solving software. Sixty-three fourth grade students participated in four instructional sessions using the software package called "Moptown Hotel."…

The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) 1998 Civics Assessment measured student knowledge, intellectual and participatory skills, and civic dispositions at the fourth grade level. This publication describes fourth graders' performance based on 30 questions from the fourth-grade assessment. Twenty-three of the thirty questions were…

This paper describes a practicum that incorporated semantic mapping, "rich" context clue instruction, and teacher modeling into a 12-week instructional program for 18 Chapter 1 fourth-grade students in rural Georgia who had shown deficiency in vocabulary knowledge with standardized test scores below the 50th percentile in the second and…

Algebra is no longer just for college-bound students. After a widespread push by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) and teachers across the country, algebra is now a required part of most curricula. However, students' standardized test scores are not at the level they should be. NCTM's seventieth yearbook takes a look at the…

This study investigated fourth graders' (N=18) self-generated analogies and the effects of their collaborative reasoning and arguing over these analogies on individual understanding of three scientific phenomena concerning air pressure. The data were subjected to both a qualitative and quantitative analysis. The first showed that the children, on…