During the last two decades learning communities, which are felt to have benefits that extend beyond students to faculty and the institution, have expanded to include many different models. This digest reviews five major higher education learning community models currently in existence: (1) Linked courses, which link cohorts of students taking two…

This digest summarizes principles of performance assessment, which connects classroom assessment to learning. Specific ways that assessment can enhance instruction are outlined, as are criteria that assessments should meet in order to inform instructional decisions. Performance assessment is compared to behavioral assessment, mastery learning, and…

The literature on college instruction reached a peak in 1996, one reason being that this topic relates to the larger discussion about the changing role of higher education and to faculty members' changing priorities. Trends identified include the integration of technology into instruction; an emphasis on interdisciplinary teaching and learning;…

This report summarizes studies related to school library media that have appeared in "Resources in Education" (RIE) or "Current Index to Journals in Education" (CIJE) between June 1981 and December 1985. Reports and papers on library media programs are discussed in the following three broad categories: (1) Library Media…

This CRitical Issue Bibliography (CRIB) Sheet focuses on learning communities, an exciting innovation in teaching and learning. The term learning communities is being used to refer to new processes for linking learners, especially a curricular restructuring approach that links or clusters classes around an interdisciplinary theme and that enrolls…

This Digest provides educators with an overview of some important facets of cognitive science research and suggests implications for classroom assessment. Education researchers study the thinking of experts in various subject areas to understand the concepts and procedures that are the most important to teach and to help determine how to move…

The CRitical Issue Bibliography (CRIB) Sheet describes resources concerned with creating a multicultural environment in higher education. Creating a multicultural environment is a combination of recruitment, retention, climate issues, pedagogy and curriculum, organizational values, culture and structure, and faculty and staff development. This…

The digest examines the range of traits that may be exhibited by intellectually gifted children. The characterisitcs are explained to be signals that a particular child might warrant closer observation and special educational attention. Characteristics are listed under three headings: general behavior (early reading, ability to detect and…

Critical thinking is a major goal of social studies education. Teachers need to know what critical thinking is before they can successfully incorporate the skill into their teaching strategies. Understanding why critical thinking is a major goal of education in a free society helps teachers prepare students to be informed and rational participants…

This Critical Issue Bibliography (CRIB) Sheet focuses on the improvement of teaching and learning in higher education. The purpose of this CRIB sheet is to present resources that focus on improvement from a systems perspective, examining structural and cultural changes. The resources are grouped into these broad categories: (1) Administrative…

The principal focus of this brief report is on findings and observations from relatively recent research on the learning of mathematics. The distinction between learning and the concepts of curriculum and instruction is first reviewed. Then Piaget's theory of intellectual development is discussed, with the conclusion that it does not provide a…

This digest focuses on the major changes that college and university faculty have designed in their undergraduate professional education programs in three areas: accounting, nursing, and teacher education. Reforms in each of these programs are reviewed. The changes seen in these three professional education programs offer lessons for faculty in…

Intelligence has been defined and studied under a number of different rubrics. Three individuals serve as a representative sample of the educational and psychological researchers associated with cognitive psychology who have made significant contributions to current understandings of intelligence. Robert Sternberg's theory contains subcategories…

Questioning is one of the most popular modes of teaching, but it has the capacity to turn a child off to learning if done incorrectly. This digest provides teachers with information on the types of questions and questioning behaviors that can facilitate the learning process and on the types of questions that are ineffective. Good questions foster…

Presented are abstracts for most of the papers presented at the 54th annual conference of the National Association for Research in Science Teaching (NARST), held at Grossinger's in the Catskills, April 5-8, 1981. Papers relate to learning in museums, classroom behavior, cognitive development, male-female differences, diagnostic testing, research…