This digest contrasts the traditional view of learning characteristic of classroom instruction with the emerging "constructivist" view that emphasizes the understanding of how and why students learn. The latter takes learning as a knowledge construction process that closely relates to prior knowledge and the learning context. It lends…

This digest examines the pressures that have led to school consolidation, what consolidation has achieved, the role of community in education, and the ways that school consolidation undermines that role. Belief in the principle of economies of scale and the pursuit of national educational goals related to economic competitiveness have led school…

Like most institutions in a world of change, the practice of mentoring is being influenced by new forms of work, technology, and learning. Organizational trends such as downsizing, restructuring, teamwork, increased diversity, and individual responsibility for career development are contributing to a resurgent interest in mentoring in the 1990s.…

In the situated learning approach, knowledge and skills are learned in contexts that reflect how knowledge is obtained and applied in everyday situations. As an instructional strategy, situated cognition is a means for relating subject matter to learners' needs and concerns. Four major premises guide the development of classroom activities for…