The article proposes changes in how the basic sciences in medical education are taught including development of a matrix of instructional goals and objectives, evaluation of each course offering and clerkship in light of the instructional design, and emphasis on problem solving and simulations. Noted are impediments to change such as national…

The format and production of the portable patient problem pack, a patient simulation method designed for problem-based learning, are described. Clinical and didactic applications and development of materials specifically for optometric education are discussed and additional information for designing optometry-related materials is appended.…

Presents an annotated list of materials from the Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC) database for high school teachers concerned with teaching economic concepts. Materials include lesson plans using writing exercises; simulations in stock market operations; class activities on economics and the U.S. Constitution; and instructional…

A study using simulated doctor-patient interactions found that social work students inappropriately attributed both positive and negative characteristics to patients, apparently on the basis of sociocultural stereotypes. It is suggested that social work educators must address values and stereotyping in clinical assessment training. (MSE)

Offers a simulation in which middle school students examine the constitutionality of a creche being placed on town property. Develops an understanding of (1) the religion clauses of the First Amendment, (2) governmental limitations on religious practices, and (3) governmental regulations that may incidentally support religious beliefs. (LS)

Uses recent freedom of expression cases to explore the effect of public opinion and pressure on U.S. Supreme Court rulings, through a simulation for secondary students. Students are assigned a pressure group to represent, discuss the facts in small groups, and formulate their decisions and arguments for class discussion. (LS)

Presented are suggestions for simulations for students in grades 3-12, designed to promote an understanding of how individuals with handicaps cope and adapt to their disability. Simulation ideas include toothbrushing while blindfolded and dressing with socks covering the hands. A participant's reaction form and an observer's reaction form are…

Describes a simulation exercise that integrates current events with the basics of decision making under crisis. Reports positive results in terms of student participation, interaction and reflection while creating minimal demands on class time. Provides details for using the simulation. (KO)

John F. Khanlian, Ericka B. Gray and Sandi Dittrich offer a role playing activity on mediation. Jo Ellen Ambrose's and John Nelson's lessons deal with arbitration. Lowell Ueland's simulation is concerned with plea bargaining, and Jack Hanna's activity involves a discussion of lawyer responsibility to provide pro bono services. (KO)

An Oregon Health Sciences University medical school experiment adapted the quarterly Objective Structured Clinical Examination, in which medical students interact with standardized patients, to accommodate 23 small groups rather than 94 individual students at each testing station. Results indicated the method favorably influenced students,…

Expert systems technology was applied to placement decisions of deaf and hard-of-hearing children. The application involved developing a model of how experts make placement decisions. The decisions of the expert system were found to agree with those of a majority of teachers in 90% of the cases. (DB)

Some ethical issues associated with use of disability simulations as a teaching tool in college-level courses on individuals with disabilities are discussed. Issues include maximizing authenticity of the experience, the value of confronting difficult situations; teacher responsibility to various constituencies, and relevance of simulations. (MSE)

In response to the enormous changes taking place in the former Soviet Union, a growing number of Russian programs in American universities are developing business Russian courses. This article suggests simulation exercises and situational role plays as a foundation for integrating business-related materials into general language courses. (12…

Examines Nickels's claim that interactive models of lexical access in speech production cannot account for naming data from a group of anomic patients. This paper reiterates that the behavior of connectionist models is not easily predictable without running the appropriate simulations, and discusses the role of frequency in lexical access in…

Simulated data are used to assess the appropriateness of using separate calibration and between-fit approaches to detecting item bias in the Rasch rating scale model. Results indicate that Type I error rates for the null distribution hold even when there are different ability levels for reference and focal groups. (SLD)