The benefits of holistic thinking (as opposed to behaviorist/reductionist views) must be recognized at the curriculum policy and planning levels, not just at the innovative instructional practice level. Efforts in both the commercial and private sectors to create curricular wholeness from the "normal" fragmented, rigid curriculum are…

Soviet scholar Lev Vygotsky identified the most common cause of miseducation: failure to convert the classroom into a community of discursive inquiry. The USSR's Academy of Pedagogical Science is collaborating with Montclair State College (New Jersey) to introduce "Philosophy for Children," an American critical thinking program…

Having never embraced behaviorism and its emphasis on fragmented knowledge, direct instruction, and reinforcement contingencies, German schools have fostered a constructivist learning perspective for quite some time. German students are helped to make connections that develop and strengthen their internal knowledge structures and build their…

An effective discipline plan must emphasize respect and responsibility while addressing behavior problems. Assertive Discipline essentially tells students, "Behave or else!" (TE)

Howard Gardner reflects on how students who learn in different ways might grapple with deep epistemological questions. Gardner advocates teaching disciplines that present our culture's image of what is true, beautiful, and ethical. His understanding pathway should appeal to children possessing a strong existential intelligence. (MLH)