Collaborative concept mapping engages two or more students in coordinated and sustained efforts in the creation of one or more concept maps in order to learn and construct knowledge. It is a potentially powerful instructional strategy in that it fosters meaningful learning and group knowledge construction and helps the building of common ground…

This article illustrates how problem solving can be enhanced through careful planning and problem presentation. Often, students shut down or are turned off when presented with a problem to solve. The author describes how to motivate students to embrace a problem to be solved and provides helpful prompts to further the problem-solving process.…

Through numerical investigations, this paper studies examples of the forced Duffing type spring equation with [epsilon] negative. By performing trial-and-error numerical experiments, the existence is demonstrated of stability boundaries in the phase plane indicating initial conditions yielding bounded solutions. Subharmonic boundaries are…

Effective problem solving depends on adopting the appropriate frame of reference to guide the search for solutions. If the problem is mislabeled or the wrong frame of reference used, the chances for success are lower. (SK)

This study investigated the effect of well- vs. ill-structured problem types on: (a) group interactional activity, (b) evolution of group participation inequities, (c) group discussion quality, and (d) group performance in a synchronous, computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) environment. Participants were 60 11th-grade science students…

This article features NASA's FlyBy Math, a series of six standards-based distance-rate-time investigations in air traffic control. Sixth-grade students--acting as pilots, air traffic controllers, and NASA scientists--conduct an experiment and then use multiple mathematical representations to analyze and solve a problem involving two planes flying…

Science centers can engage students; accommodate different learning styles and individual interests; help students become independent and confident learners; and encourage social skills among students. In this article, the author worked with third-grade students as they completed activities at learning centers during a week-long unit on simple…

Offers a progressive series of eight lessons designed to guide students in generating questions, creating investigations, and finding answers. (AIM)

The present study explores stages in managerial problem-solving skills of participants beginning with formal education, and continuing through the professional workplace setting. We studied nine different levels of expertise: from novice student groups, to graduates and expert groups. Participants were asked to diagnose and solve business cases.…

Discusses the proposition that rarely does an investigation follow the orderly and systematic course suggested by the scientific method. The most vital elements are not the experimental and theoretical tools of science, but human ingenuity and intuition. (BT)

Discusses reasons why problem solving has failed. Offers an alternative approach--the use of investigations in mathematics instruction. Lists the characteristics of an idealized classroom. (ASK)

This case study involved year 9 students carrying out project work in biology via problem-based learning. The purpose of the study was to (a) find out how students approach and work through ill-structured problems, (b) identify some issues and challenges related to the use of such problems, and (c) offer some practical suggestions on the…

Numerous investigations show that most school science teaching, in Spain and elsewhere, implicitly transmits an inductivist and very stereotyped view of science and conveys an unrealistic image of scientific work. We present some results of an investigation with fourth-level Spanish secondary education students (15 year olds) who were taught…

Children's first experiences with numbers affect the ways in which they view mathematics the rest of their lives. In order to make sense of math, children need to explore and investigate using real objects instead of just symbols; practice skills in an atmosphere of fun; see mistakes as just another way of learning new ideas; make use of a variety…

This article is concerned with an environmental education program designed to allow students, grades five through eight, to investigate important ecological relationships. The course has two phases, the awareness phase whereby students construct the Environmental-Ecological Web, and the involvement phase whereby they use it to investigate local…