Education Commons^™

A Study Of Elementary Teachers' Abilities, Attitudes, And Beliefs About Problem Solving, Nancy Mullins Brown

Legacy ETDs

Problem solving has been alternately viewed as the justification for the study of mathematics or as the impetus and means for studying mathematics. This study examines characteristics—attitudes toward problem solving, beliefs about problem solving, and abilities to solve problems—of elementary teachers of grades three, four, and five that relate to problem solving.

Participants completed a two-part survey to quantify their attitudes and beliefs and a problem-solving activity which quantified their problem-solving abilities. Four participants were subsequently interviewed. Analyses showed that these teachers had generally positive attitudes toward problem solving, generally positive beliefs about problem solving, and generally poor problem-solving abilities. …

Strengthening Concept Development Through The Inquiry Method, Larry Joe West

All Master's Theses

The purpose of this study was (1) to review the literature on concepts and concept development through inquiry; (2) to present guidelines for inquiry within the classroom; (3) to develop classroom lessons about contemporary Soviet life using the concept of inquiry and thirty-five millimeter slides; (4) to summarize and to offer recommendations for the use of inquiry in the classroom.