Describes several facets of small-group instruction including teacher, group, and individual behaviors and use of time. Observational data were supplemented by teacher interviews concerning student groupings. Grouping practice appeared to result from decisions teachers made primarily on the basis of three factors: the teacher, the students, and…

Outlines the development of a lesson structured around four stages of problem-solving. Provides five problems and questions for understanding, getting started, and for extension in each of the problems. (YP)

U.S. (n=150) and Japanese (n=200) fourth graders generated multiple solutions with explanations for a simple mathematical task. U.S. responses revealed gender differences (girls averaged more responses), and comparison by nation revealed similarity of strategy frequencies, but Japanese students used more formal language and mathematical ideas. (13…

The effects of problem solving and peer collaboration as two instructional methods advocated by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) were evaluated for enhancing mathematics achievement, motivation, and self-concept of 104 low- achieving third and fourth graders. There were significant positive effects for both approaches, as…

Describes the achievement of Israeli fourth and eight graders on the performance assessment of the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS). The Israeli educational system has stressed practical tasks, and as expected, performance of Israeli students on the TIMSS performance assessment is quite high. (SLD)

In the shadow of a Manhattan housing project, Public School 33 is coming back to life. A new principal has brought a wave of optimism, test scores are way up, and middle-class families who used to avoid the school are enrolling their children. In Brooklyn, teenagers who might have dropped out of school are getting diplomas through a special…

This study aimed to investigate children's performance and perception of problem difficulty in solving everyday mathematical problems with familiar versus unfamiliar contexts. In addition, the ways that children identify the similarities in problem-solving approaches between problem settings and everyday shopping were also examined. Forty-eight…

Tracking is a predominant method used by American public schools to instruct children of multiple abilities. Tracking has been highly criticized by scholars, however, for its detrimental effects on children's education. This paper investigates practitioners' rationale for using tracking and explores the effects of tracking in the classroom and on…

Project Special Elementary Education for the Disadvantaged (SEED) is a nationwide program in which professional mathematicians and scientists from major universities and research corporations teach abstract, conceptually oriented mathematics to full-sized classes of elementary school children on a daily basis as a supplement to their regular…

Project Special Elementary Education for the Disadvantaged (SEED) was implemented during 1986-87 and 1987-88 in 18 fourth- and fifth-grade classrooms in 8 of the Portland (Oregon) Public Schools to increase students' esteem for math learning and to improve mathematics achievement. It is a supplementary mathematics program applying Socratic…

This study examines the effects of task arrangements and management systems on student engagement rates. It is argued that the complexity of classroom arrangements influences the form and content of management systems, and that management decisions impact levels of student engagement. Intensive observation of 63 third and fourth grade students…

This guide provides instructional strategies and activities for improving measurement and geometry skills. In the introduction, the importance of measuring skills, the history of measurement, and instructional approaches are discussed, and a table matching activities with requisite skills is presented. The 16 activities include such topics as…

Work with PLATO, a computer-based teaching system which provides a means for individualizing instruction, is described. Children sit at terminals and respond to directives and questions on the screen by touching it or by typing a message. PLATO responds, and prescribes work in accordance with the child's previous performance. Curricular materials…

A study was made: (1) to determine whether children allowed to choose the difficulty levels of their arithmetic problems in a Computer Assisted Instruction (CAI) task would show greater engagement in learning than children who were not given a choice, (2) to discover possible patterns in the choices made, and (3) to determine the relationship of…

Results showed hardly any differences in time-on-task behavior between third and fourth grade pupils in mixed age single age mathematics and language arts classes in the Netherlands. Students in mixed age classes spent more time working individually. The ability level of the students had little impact on time-on-task behavior. (Author/RM)