From global hunger to the world's water crisis, middle school students at New Jersey's West Windsor-Plainsboro Regional School District spend the last few days of the school year problem solving about the planet's most dire issues. With the Global Challenge, the school district's administrators not only want to implement an interesting and dynamic…

The Future Problem Solving Program, designed by E. Paul and Pansy Torrance, is now developing problem-solving skills of 100,000 gifted children in grades 4-12 throughout the United States. The program design, six-step approach to problem solving, scenario writing, and evaluation are briefly explained. (MC)

Only by providing schools with a choice of valid, well-supported models of schooling can we make the change process manageable for school personnel and satisfy the conflicting demands of the public. Education professionals have the expertise to sort through the many puzzle pieces of school reform and assemble coherent, detailed schooling images…

Three types of homework are described: consolidation, challenge, and diagnostic. Details on homework for less able students, general guidelines, and replies to arguments against a homework program are included. (MP)

This article describes the Future Problem Solving Program, a year-long curriculum project with competitive and non-competitive options. The international program involves 250,000 students and is designed to help students enlarge, enrich, and make more accurate their images of the future. Team problem solving and individual problem solving…

A multimethod model of educating gifted and talented students was based on graduate students' study of 14 eminent self actualized individuals. Common environmental elements of these individuals were found in parent background, birth order, relationship with family, education, task commitment, personality traits, and interests. The model was…

This book serves as a guide for educators who want to know about and use problem-based learning (PBL) in their schools. Chapter 1 provides anecdotal reports by teachers and students, including examples from universities as well as elementary and secondary education. Chapter 2 gives an overview of PBL for those who want to learn more about the…

Metaphors influence, in many ways, methods and ways of thinking, including the planning and implementation of inservice teacher education programs. Inservice programs are often not considered successful; writers, developers, producers, and potential adopters of the programs should become aware of their metaphoric stance. Three metaphors commonly…

This digest describes how teachers can use cognitive-behavioral interventions (CBI) to remediate behavioral deficits and excesses by providing students with the tools necessary to control their own behavior. CBIs involve teaching the use of inner speech ("self-talk" )to modify underlying cognitions that affect overt behavior. CBI…

This case study deals with efforts made in one city to enhance the professional development strategies of schools by placing them under the auspices of a Successful Teacher Center (STC). The teacher center for the "Iroquois City" schools (Iroquois City is a fictitious name) was one of nine sites chosen by the Documentation and Technical…

This article provides an overview of the basic features of the protective behaviors (PBs) approach and suggests that the PBs approach is relative to people with mental retardation, particularly in relation to issues of vulnerability and empowerment. It provides examples of the application of PBs approach in clinical settings. (Contains 7…

This report discusses findings of a study that investigated the resolution of disputes in the field of special education. Information was collected from ten states (Alabama, California, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Virginia, Washington, and Wyoming) on their current dispute resolution systems and from two additional states…

Evaluation research is no longer taught solely as a technical-scientific pursuit, but is now moving toward a policy-oriented discipline. Psychological skills in a political context can strengthen technical contributions of evaluators. (LMO)

In an examination of the implementation of educational change, a discussion is presented on the purpose, meaning, and context of change. Consideration is given to the value of change, its benefits and feasibility, and the capacity for implementation. In the second section of the paper, 14 factors related to the implementation of change in schools…

This paper examines problems involved in designing an integrated system to teach and assess critical thinking skills in the classroom, and describes the Monitor Achievement in Pittsburgh (MAP) Critical Thinking Project, an attempt to draw upon research from diverse disciplines in developing an effective pilot project in the Pittsburgh public…