The game "Pythagoras" is an adaptation of the tangram puzzle. Describes the process of finding all the possible convex polygons with seven sides to prove that the solution to a given puzzle shape of seven sides difficult to find was not possible. (MDH)

Reports on a pilot study that examined use by sixth-grade students in Costa Rica of a mathematical microworld written in LOGO. The investigation had three phases: (1) open exploration of the microworld; (2) group discussion and sharing of hypotheses; and (3) guided discovery and problem solving. (Contains 11 references.) (SLW)

Early childhood motor activity programs at institutions of higher learning can operate within the tripartite mission of the university while serving a vital function in providing leadership and guidance to educators. This article describes the University of Northern Iowa's Kindergym model. Within this model, curricular areas of games/sports,…

Observing young children learning is an indispensable part of teaching in the early years and this is clearly acknowledged in the "Curriculum guidance for the foundation stage." It is through observing and assessing learning that one can find out what children know and what skills and concepts they appear to have acquired. In this…

This book provides ideas for table exhibits for grades 3-6 in nine different subject areas. These areas are: marine life; nature in the backyard; the history and uses of flags; impressionist painters and art; winter festivals around the world; fibers and fabrics; Native Americans in touch with the land; sugar and chocolate; and keeping the earth,…

This document reports on two 3-day workshops designed to train three vocational education instructors or curriculum developers from every Wisconsin school district in specific critical thinking skills strategies that they could implement in their districts. The document includes a three-page narrative description of the workshops that includes…

This pamphlet discusses group problem solving in schools. Its point of departure is that teachers go at problems from a number of different directions and that principals need to capitalize on those differences and bring a whole range of skills and perceptions to the problem-solving process. Rather than trying to get everyone to think alike,…

The Invent America program addresses the need to provide K-8 students with opportunities to learn critical and creative thinking skills through the process of inventing. Students apply problem-solving skills as they turn their own creative ideas into inventions. It is an effort to integrate the curriculum, help students synthesize knowledge, and…

The concept of owning knowledge is somewhat ethereal and until recently had little relevance to academic institutions. In principle any object that is capable of being controlled is capable of being owned. The most basic control concerns decisions about whether to communicate knowledge. The philosophical foundation which is the basis of the legal…

An interactionist-discovery theory of child phonology is proposed based on the following tenets: children invent their own phonological rules, and phonetic mastery is not automatically or generally in step with learning about phonemic contrasts. When a child learns the sound pattern of a language, there is constant interaction between the…

The writings of 33 authors in either curriculum theory or social studies are analyzed to determine whether each author supports structure-discovery views, reflective-inquiry views, or expresses views that tend to reflect both positions or neither position regarding the new approaches to teaching social studies. The structure-discovery method is…

Previous work by the authors permitted them to hypothesize the existence of certain universal cognitive strategies that play a significant role in child second language acquisition. Forming the basis of the "creative construction process" in L2 learning, these strategies have heretofore remained unspecified. This paper offers new…

A general model was built for assessing important complex educational goals. Literature on performance tests, process goals, and verbal protocols were critically examined. Advantages of these methodologies were incorporated into the model which was tested in an individualized mathematics inquiry laboratory which used whole-task approach. Five…

Since history textbooks omit and/or emphasize certain data, students are left with a false sense of history. Although the "hard data" presented in history texts is generally regarded as reliable, the selection and organization of that data is inherently manipulative because other data has been excluded. Because authors do not begin with a…

Study of children who go through a "silent period" early in the course of second language development found that most of the children engaged in extensive private speech, including: repetition of others' utterances; recall and practice; creation of new linguistic forms; paradigmatic substitution; and rehearsal for overt social…