Three models were conceptualized for facilitating student-directed learning: teacher-guided, group-planned, and individual-oriented. Undergraduates in an educational psychology course were studied using the Involvement Behavior Questionnaire and the Inquiry Fluency Task. All three experimental treatments encouraged student involvement. The…

The stated aim of "Outside the Net" is to analyze and reveal the dominant educational system from a radical perspective and to work to create a new one. To that end it publishes articles critical of the present educational system, such as a critique of the "cult of I.Q." and an expose of racism in Nancy Drew mysteries. The…

To help committed student writers make the transition from school-sponsored to self-sponsored forms of discourse, an advanced expository writing course combines student-chosen writing assignments with a pedagogical structure that promotes a sensitive and critical response to prose. The class is organized into writing groups containing four or five…

Describes how less able students were motivated when assigned the task of inviting and being responsible for guest speakers from the community. (CRH)

This paper reports on a 12-week study of 131 students in eight fourth-grade social studies classrooms in two elementary schools in the southwestern United States with low socioeconomic, high minority populations. Although research has indicated that cooperative learning enhances student achievement, promotes self-esteem, and improves interpersonal…

In a time of high demand for qualified nurses, mass education has become the norm. This is a necessary constraint within which we have to learn to function. However, the need to educate large numbers of nurses may lead to a one-sided unimaginative reliance on the traditional lecture method, creating a learning environment that inadvertently limits…

Summaries of studies or experiments dealing with some aspect of independent study are compiled in this report. The papers include: (1) "The Future of Self-Directed Study," by Howard E. Gruber; (2) "Freshman Seminars at Harvard," by Eric W. Shaw; (3) "Independent Study in Honors Programs," by Philip I. Mitterling; (4)…

Discusses the reactions to two empowering styles of teaching introduced into a newly developed interdisciplinary unit in geography and environmental sciences. Peer assessment was embraced more thoroughly than group work which was eventually accepted with some reservations. Includes charts illustrating student reactions to both innovations. (MJP)

Attempts to differentiate the characteristics of courses that involve token empowerment from those that involve deeper empowerment. Describes a course where students role-played the part of consultants involved in group work involving global issues. Includes a chart that outlines the components of token and deep empowerment. (MJP)