Is there an ethical giftedness, and if so, what does it look like? In this article, I consider why ethical behavior is much harder to come by than one would expect. Ethically gifted individuals are able to complete a series of eight steps to action, the failure of any one of which may result in a person, even one who is ethically well trained, to…

States that an adult basic education teacher is not only a teacher of subject matter, but also a teacher of how to live, succeed, and solve problems. Provides a review of the development of typical coping and defense mechanisms used by students in response to inner and outer pressures. (NRJ)

The author extends the work of Holt and Laury (1997) on a simple noncomputerized card game for teaching the essential aspects of public goods theory. He suggests a course of several lectures and discusses the behavior of subjects in various game sessions. Among other things, the results provide experimental evidence with respect to the private…

Assessment thus far has been shaped primarily by questions about student learning outcomes; however, assessment "behind outcomes" means looking more carefully at the processes and conditions that lead to improved student learning. Nine areas of inquiry for assessment "behind outcomes" are suggested, with appropriate methods for addressing them and…

Details (facetiously) a study that examines why English students do not turn their work in on time. Concludes that numerous distractions, such as "Dear Abby," are responsible for sidetracking students doing research. (NKA)

Analyzes why so many adults are inactive by examining how children are introduced to physical activity, focusing on two behavioral principles that are germane to turning children on to physical activity (fun and self-worth), reviewing practices that violate these principles, and speculating about why the principles get violated. (SM)

Suggests that, although stresses in the classroom are unavoidable, they may offer optimal opportunities for effective early childhood education. Such education requires work with the child's feelings and cooperative work with the child's parents. Offers different ideas that can be used by teachers to help young children and their parents to cope…

Compulsory attendance policies have been instituted in higher education with the expectation that academic achievement will improve, but empirical research on this relationship is equivocal. One theory of motivation posits that students' motivational beliefs, classroom context, and student behaviors are important variables in academic achievement.…

Laments the widespread cheating among public school students and their lack of imagination in cheating methods, and then recounts the story of two ingenious master cheaters (fraternity brothers) at the University of North Carolina. (NKA)

To understand and deal with student behavior, we must understand that most behavior is caused by objects and events in the world around the student; that students have learned personal ways of relating to those objects and events; and that in a setting like a school it is easier and more productive to alter those objects and events than to change…

Focusing on children's developmental use of written language in kindergarten and first grade, this report looks at connections between the social and academic dimensions of classroom life. The first section examines literacy as an aspect of growing up and becoming a member of society. By highlighting the social and academic divisiveness schooling…