The skills of knowing how to learn and apply information, which have been collectively grouped under the heading "learning management," are becoming increasingly important as society progresses farther into the information age. Because adult learning is usually more self-directed and because adults are largely free to determine their…

This Digest discusses Problem-Based Learning (PBL), a method developed by H.S. Barrows (1986), and originally created to prepare medical students for real-world problems by letting them solve medical problems based on real cases. The Digest contends that PBL can situate language learning in the real world by posing problems like those found in…

In order to realize their academic missions and respond to state demands for access, assessment, and accountability, the nation's community colleges, along with all other institutions of higher education, are focusing increasingly on the enhancement of academic support services. Learning centers represent an important means of providing learning…

This digest addresses the necessity for holistic learning--the integration of intellectual, social, and emotional aspects of undergraduate student learning. Research findings, theoretical models, and the relationship and interdependency of these developmental areas are briefly reviewed and recommendations are provided to faculty, administrators,…

Spatial dynamics is an instructional strategy whereby students create large scale models that capture the details of a historic event. This Digest discusses classroom floor models and papier mache models. Floor models are best suited to elementary classrooms and middle schools. Papier mache models, appropriate for high school social studies…

The theme for the Association for Counselor Education and Supervision (ACES) 1993-94 was to promote professionalism, collaboration, and advocacy. To facilitate these goals, the ACES president, Barbara Griffin, engaged the members in a dialogue about change--a change supportive of collaboration and advocacy, a change that called for a strong…

The ARCS Model of Motivational Design, developed by John M. Keller of Florida State University, is a systematic model for designing motivating instruction. The ARCS Model identifies four essential strategy components for motivating instruction: attention strategies for arousing and sustaining curiosity and interest; relevance strategies that link…

Although counselors have implicitly understood and used a number of its tenets, an action-theoretical approach is a relatively recent development in career counseling. This digest analyzes the tenets of this approach. An action approach to career counseling sees clients as agents who steer and direct their activities. It represents an integration…

This Digest discusses approaches to group learning in the language classroom, presenting some principles that are common to any group learning approach, whether it be cooperative learning, student team learning, group investigation, or collaborative learning. The Digest also discusses the Collaborative Learning Model (Reid et al., 1989) which…

Adult education programs must increasingly serve non-native speakers of English, many of whom are neither literate in their native language nor in English. It is suggested that first language literacy promotes second language acquisition and that literacy skills in the native language are likely to transfer to the second language. This digest…

At a time of widespread public cynicism about social institutions, America's community colleges are striving to reconnect with the communities they serve and function as catalysts for community renewal. In a recent national survey, about a third of the colleges questioned had formalized service learning in their course work, and nearly half…

Schools and school districts across the United States are establishing and expanding foreign language programs. Although most programs are found at the secondary school level, an increasing number are being established in elementary schools. A survey by the Center for Applied Linguistics indicates that 31% of U.S. elementary schools are offering…

Foreign Language Exploratory or Foreign Language Experience (FLEX) programs offer one approach to initiating foreign language instruction for children. One survey reported that 41 percent of United States elementary schools offering language instruction had FLEX programs. Statistics on FLEX programs in middle schools are unavailable. Most FLEX…

Summarizes recent ERIC documents and journal articles, and highlights some World Wide Web resources that describe, evaluate, or compare various curricula or instructional methods, such as Creative Curriculum, High/Scope, the Montessori Method, Waldorf Schools, and Direct Instruction. (Author)

A constructivist framework can often appear vague and abstract to the novice counselor. The abstract and nebulous realm of meaning-making, which is central to constructivist approaches, can be frustrating for a linear, task-oriented counselor. This digest explains the approaches used in constructivist counseling. The need to use constructivist…