This interdisciplinary two-week unit simulates a trip to South Africa as part of a U.S. delegation sent to observe what is happening politically, economically, and culturally in the post-apartheid transition. Students explore and experience a number of real-life events and situations which might be encountered on an actual trip. The tasks…

This simulation allows students to participate in the "ways" of ancient Chinese history and culture. The unit is organized into five major phases or "li's." Students may spend about one week on activities in each "li" which focuses on a major aspect of Chinese history, culture, or geography. In each "li"…

This simulation allows students to explore the lives of the great rulers of the Mayan culture. Students learn the mysterious history of the Maya by decoding glyphs, investigating the unusual religion of the Maya, unraveling the complex Mayan calendar, and discovering the Mayan number system's secret meanings. Specific cooperation skills are taught…

This simulation allows students to travel north through the six divisions of the Nile River, with each major phase of the simulation called a "cataract". Students earn travel points as they sail the Nile from its source in Central Africa through the Sixth Cataract, all the way to the First Cataract, and then on to the delta where it…

There is much research suggesting that cultural biases or attitudes are difficult to change. This study assumes that the reason for the difficulty is that such biases are deeply rooted in a variety of situational and individual sources that must work simultaneously for change to occur. In searching for a way to conform to this requirement, a…

The Water in Africa Project was realized over a 2-year period by a team of Peace Corps volunteers, World Wise Schools (WWS) classroom teachers, and WWS staff members. As part of an expanded, detailed design, resources were collected from over 90 volunteers serving in African countries, photos and stories were prepared, and standards-based learning…

The Water in Africa Project was realized over a 2-year period by a team of Peace Corps volunteers, World Wise Schools (WWS) classroom teachers, and WWS staff members. As part of an expanded, detailed design, resources were collected from over 90 volunteers serving in African countries, photos and stories were prepared, and standards-based learning…

The Challenger Center for Space Science Education is a not-for-profit educational organization founded in 1986 following the Challenger 51-L space shuttle tragedy. This packet contains a variety of separate sheets and brochures providing information about the activities of the Challenger Center. Challenger Learning Centers provide hands-on,…

This volume of an annual collection presents nine essays relating to instruction in the basic communication course. The essays are: "Three Metaphors for the Competencies Acquired in the Public Speaking Class" (Michael Osborn); "Perceptions of Basic Communication Texts: Factors in Student Learning and Textbook Adoption…

In this lesson plan, the city of Malibu (CA) is at the mercy of the weather phenomenon El Nino. The press secretary for the Mayor of Malibu recognizes an opportunity to turn this potential natural disaster into a re-election campaign. A task force will be assembled to protect the lives and property of the community. Students role play members of…

Examines the idea of organizational communication competence and describes how behavioral, cognitive, and performance objectives can be developed for a simulation course. Explains how the course works using small groups, organizational problems, and problem-solving discussions. Includes a sample syllabus with evaluation forms, a discussion of…

Videotapes of simulated student case presentations were used to determine whether personal characteristics of medical students influence the evaluation of their clinical ability. The results indicate that personal characteristics of students can significantly influence their evaluations and that faculty members do not appear to share common…

A study is reported that investigates the validity of written simulations designed to evaluate the problem-solving behavior of pharmacy students studying therapeutics. Results with the written simulations are correlated with test scores from the course's objective examinations and with clinical clerkship evaluations. (JMD)

Describes a program in which industrial supervisors attended training sessions to improve their report writing skills. Training methods were based on case studies and included role plays and simulations. Suggestions for improving the program are included. (CT)