Fourth, sixth, and eighth graders and adults estimated answers to multiplication problems and explained their estimation procedures. Found performance improved with age, and sixth graders understood the simplification principle in estimation. The most striking developmental changes were in conceptual knowledge used for estimating. Proposes a…

Middle school teachers can integrate math and language skills with an innovative project that puts math on display. The "Math Museum" has students visit exhibits (colorfully illustrated math problems) in pairs, then discuss ways to approach and solve each problem on display. (SM)

Describes the underlying philosophical and cultural changes associated with classroom organizational changes in one eighth-grade teacher's attempts to implement National Council of Teachers of Mathematics standards. Observations and interviews indicated that there were two distinct cultures ("book world" and organic or…

Recommends that teachers prompt intellectual preparation of adolescents by asking intriguing questions, presenting captivating tasks, opening compelling investigations, or assigning appealing roles. Discusses discipline-based inquiry by young students in science, mathematics, social studies, English, and the fine arts. Challenges teachers to…

This study investigates the effects of computer-aided videodisc-based anchored instruction on promoting elementary school students' problem-solving skills in Taiwan. Anchored instruction combines theories such as situated cognition, cognitive apprenticeship, cooperative learning, and constructivist theories. With the help of interactive videodisc…

The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), also known as "The Nation's Report Card," is a congressionally mandated survey of educational achievement of American students in a variety of curriculum areas and of changes in that achievement across time. Part 1 of this report consists of the results of NAEP's 1990 national…

A curriculum was developed for 18 at-risk students at the fourth grade level, integrating state minimum skills for math and communication. The goal was to teach basic skills and critical thinking skills (CTS), and to see an increase in motivation, self-esteem, and student attendance through a hands-on project of building a dollhouse and its…

The activities in this guide are designed for students in grades 4-10 and are intended to stimulate thinking about scientific and engineering careers, develop logical reasoning and problem-solving skills, promote positive attitudes toward mathematics, increase interest and knowledge about scientific work, strengthen spatial visualization skills,…

The development and evaluation of several microcomputer-based strategies designed to facilitate learning how to solve mathematics word problems by personalizing examples in accord with individuals' background and interests are described in this paper. The first of two studies conducted with fifth and sixth grade students to evaluate these…

This handbook is intended to contribute to the development of a theory of remedial instruction that can be easily understood and assimilated by teachers. The document evolved from research and workshop activity over a period of several years. It is designed for use by those with instructional or supervisory reponsibilities in elementary schools,…

This study sought to determine the effectiveness of self-instructional strategy training on the addition and subtraction problem-solving skills of four upper elementary-level learning-disabled students, and to evaluate maintenance and generalization of the trained skills. Each subject received individual criterion-based training in…

The objectives of this study were to: (1) develop a working model based on Pierre van Hiele and Dina van Hiele-Geldof's five levels of thought development in geometry; (2) characterize the thinking in geometry of sixth (N=16) and ninth (N=16) graders in terms of these levels (examining at what level they are at, if they show potential for progress…

When students make the transition from elementary school to junior high school, they experience abrupt organizational changes in their school environment. The hypothesis that social comparison processes mediate the relation between ability grouping practices in mathematics and students' achievement expectancies was tested in a longitudinal sample…

Designed for fifth grade mathematics teachers, the three inservice sessions described in this booklet balance the theoretical with the practical and show teachers how to help students through the activity of writing word problems based on their own experiences. Using a total language-thinking approach to helping students read and solve word…

This publication for middle- and junior-high school students contains teaching units on aging. The units themselves are not intended to be immediately usable in the classroom. They require the teacher to first learn something about aging. The units require tailoring to specific classroom situations. The first five sections contain units for the…