Primary school teachers generally have to teach several subjects. Their training, however, is often fairly short and it is tempting to force-feed them with everything they need to know to teach these subjects. It is more realistic to accept that a short course cannot do everything. Instead, it would be better to equip these students with skills…

Teachers in the UK and elsewhere are now expected to foster creativity in young children (NACCCE, 1999; Ofsted, 2003; DfES, 2003; DfES/DCMS, 2006). Creativity, however, is more often associated with the arts than with mathematics. The aim of the study was to explore and document pre-service (in the UK, pre-service teachers are referred to as…

Trainee teachers, new and non-specialist teachers of elementary mathematics have a tendency to avoid thought about reasons in mathematics. Instead, they tend to favour the development of computational skill through the rote application of procedures, routines and algorithms. Could elementary mathematics textbooks serve as models of practice and…

Examines aspects of 10-year-old children's conceptions of understanding. Analyzes to what extent they (1) recognize understanding as a cohesive whole, (2) know when a descriptive understanding versus a causal understanding is expected, and (3) can distinguish between the types of causal understanding in science and history. Includes references and…

Children's and adolescents' responses to some nonmimetic figures of motion showed that the figures become more effective in indicating direction of motion as age increases; however, at a given age, some are much less effective than others. As indicators of speed, some figures are intrinsically more effective than others. (Author/RM)

Describes a method for assessing humanized science content and presents the results of a content analysis study conducted on 60 secondary science textbooks to determine the presence of "humanized content." (JDH)

Reports on a study of children's literature selected for primary grades in British schools. Finds that the books fall into two categories: word books and picture books. Recommends that authors, illustrators, and selectors of books should consider how to develop books that help students progress smoothly from one group to another. (CFR)

Maintains that pictures are one constant aspect of children's books. Reviews research on whether pictures hinder or facilitate the development of reading skills in young children. Provides suggestions on when and where pictures might provide instructional support. (CFR)

Argues that, even for young children, analogies offer conceptual models for supporting the development of understanding. Compared children's understanding of current electricity after instruction with and without the inclusion of analogies. Children receiving the analogies exhibited a broader understanding, especially concerning the process of…