A trend at U.S. colleges and universities in teaching first-year science courses is discussed. An approach in the classroom and lab in which students engage in science through observation and hypothesis is emphasized. Hands-on science, experiential science, and constructing science through cooperative learning are discussed. (KR)

The pleasures and advantages of informal learning are highlighted in a story about childhood visits to a fabric shop. Contrasts the unhurried, flexible, self-directed nature of informal learning situations with the more structured and controlled environment of the classroom. Discusses skills and lessons learned in informal settings and suggests…

Identification of the basic skills and roles in field experience education should answer the question "Can and should educators identify a set of basic skills required for effective performance in experiential learning as part of general education?" New roles required of students in using experiential learning opportunities include initiator,…

The application of cultural materialism, a Darwinistic approach to social forces, reveals that human learning is ultimately governed by the required process of human energy procurement. This "ethno-logic" interpretation of the correlation between techno-environmental levels and human learning stands in contrast to the conventional but…