Despite the obvious parallel which can be drawn between the uses of leisure to benefit the individual, and the use of nonacademic activities and environment to promote individual growth and development, the two perspectives have evolved independently on college campuses. Research into the role, function, and outcomes of leisure have shown that…

One challenge in today's society is to teach students how to solve problems and use the general education they acquire to arrive at realistic solutions. Techniques that cut across the curriculum and can be used by any university teacher to provide realistic experiences for students are discussed. Students need the same acquired skills in…

Uses different learning models to provide the conceptual framework for three interventions that illustrate methods for designing effective learning environments at the macroinstitutional and microinstitutional levels. (Author)

Discusses the benefits for students and communities of service-learning experiences. Briefly describes student efforts to formulate and solve community problems as part of the Expeditionary Learning project (Massachusetts), which calls on adults and students to embark on experiential learning "expeditions" to renew themselves as…

Two day-long college events--wilderness orienteering and a role-playing canoe trip into the past--illustrate ingredients critical for experiential learning: active learning, student focus, clear purpose, emotional investment and risk, holistic engagement, mixture of content and process, stepping outside one's comfort zone, meaningful…

John Dewey's doctrine that education is a process of continuing growth is analyzed and critiqued. Dewey's principles of interaction and continuity and his commitment to scientific problem-solving and democratic values are discussed. Inconsistencies in Dewey's thought are pointed out. (PP)

A graduate student in a nontraditional experiential program in environmental education at the Audubon Expedition Institute (Belfast, Maine) reflects on an experience in which she and her peers faced an ethical decision about whether to pay a fee to paper companies in order to hike in the North Woods. Describes the processes that allowed the group…

Studies at Harvard and Hampshire College are summarized to show the failure of traditional house systems or residence hall programing to bridge the gap between academic and living subcultures. It is suggested that student personnel staff focus on facilitation of students' personal development and interpersonal communication skills. (Author/MSE)

Proposes an integrated perspective on student learning and personal development by viewing the cognitive and affective dimensions of development as related parts of one process. Suggests that this perspective will provide college students with a successful educational experience by increasing cognitive understanding, sense of self, personal…

A graduate student in environmental education reflects on her experiences traveling throughout the United States on a converted school bus with 20 other people in an effort to gain insight into social issues and problems. This experience helped her realize how listening to others, respecting their opinions, and discovering common goals promotes…

Graduates of Sudbury Valley School (Framingham, Massachusetts) relate their learning experiences, including the positive relationships they developed with adults, their active role in school administration, the importance of play to their learning, the values they acquired as a result of their schooling, and how their experiences prepared them for…

Perspectives on going through the education system are offered by an adult who was diagnosed with learning disability. Experiences are shared concerning elementary school, high school, college, employment, and graduate school. Ten tips are also offered for teachers of students with learning disabilities. (SW)

A teacher at an alternative school for at-risk students discusses the development of student assessment that increases students' self-esteem, convinces students that learning is fun, and prepares students to return to traditional school settings. She found that allowing students to participate in the assessment process successfully quantified the…

This text reviews academic, emotional, motivational, and social learning theories that help children to be their own teachers and teachers to be aware of the advantages of taking charge of one's own learning, rather than depending on teacher education methodology. Learning is described as more than learning facts and figures or directive…

This study tested the amount of value added to critical and communication skills by the university experience using a strategy that compared the skills of entering and graduating students at York University (Ontario). The study involved, first, identifying skills that might be improved over the course of a university education; second, developing…