Students in colleges and universities need to be able to learn how to communicate effectively both within the specialized arenas of their chosen disciplines and, increasingly, with a wide variety of public and professional audiences. One way to accomplish this goal is to integrate the development of effective writing and speaking skills into both…

Surveys of employers continually highlight the need for better communication skills among recent college graduates. Yet, writing instruction in higher education serves far more than a transactional purpose. Writing facilitates learning, helps students gain skills in analysis and synthesis, and supports a range of other personal and intellectual…

The incidence of autism spectrum disorders has increased dramatically over the past two decades, yet these disorders are still poorly understood. By considering the viewpoints of autistics themselves, together with evidence from the scientific literature, it becomes clear that autism spectrum disorders are not always the debilitating conditions…

The essentials needed for developing teaching novices into good teachers are autonomy, collaboration, and time. School improvement plans should include an understanding of the conditions that foster the professional growth of teachers. Provides a table and extensive list of references. (MD)

Piaget's ideas are discussed: that the basic thrust of education is determined by the intellectual development of the child, that the child's intelligence develops in definite stages, and that the goal of the developmental process is to reason in logical terms. (MLW)

After discussing the differences in the physical, social, and attitudinal environments of advantaged and disadvantaged children, this paper describes the educational settings and intervention practices that were designed as part of the Carolina Abecedarian Project to assist young disadvantaged children in attaining educational competence. An…

Based on research in infant sign language, this book teaches parents methods of communicating with their infants through the use of simple bodily movements that signify objects, events, and needs. Noting that communication between parent and child can flourish between 9 months and 30 months, when a baby's desire to communicate outstrips the…

In an integrated four-course sequence, Colorado School of Mines engineering and science students work on open-ended, real-world problems prepared by government agencies and private companies that interact as clients with student teams. The program fosters intellectual development, teamwork, and communication skills. (Author/MSE)

This paper describes the development of children's ability to pose and answer questions and discusses the teacher's role in enhancing these problem-solving skills. Several chapters review theoretical and empirical work related to these issues: models of man, general intellectual development, the mother's role in children's intellectual development…