Learning science through design offers students the opportunity to engage in real-life problems from an interdisciplinary perspective. This ERIC Digest explains the power of "design" as a teaching tool, what it brings to teaching, and what learning through design entails. (YDS)

This digest contrasts the traditional view of learning characteristic of classroom instruction with the emerging "constructivist" view that emphasizes the understanding of how and why students learn. The latter takes learning as a knowledge construction process that closely relates to prior knowledge and the learning context. It lends…

This digest discusses the rationale for integrating language and content instruction, and provides an overview of some of the program models and teaching techniques that focus on this approach. The following program models are highlighted: Content-based language instruction, sheltered subject matter teaching, theme-based instruction, sheltered…

Discusses ERIC resources on the ways reading teachers can work with parents to enhance school age children's literacy in the home. (HTH)

New ways to learn at work draw upon workers' previous experiences, link concepts and practices, and encourage reflection and the transfer of knowledge from one situation to another. Action, situated, and incidental learning are three current approaches. Action learning is a systematic process through which individuals learn by doing. It has been…

This Spanish-language ERIC Digest addresses the question of what young children should be learning that will best serve their development and learning in the long term. Two major dimensions of development--normative and dynamic--are explored, and four categories of learning goals are discussed: (1) knowledge; (2) skills; (3) dispositions; and (4)…

This Korean-language digest addresses the question of what young children should be learning that will best serve their development and learning in the long term. Two major dimensions of development--normative and dynamic--are explored, and four categories of learning goals are discussed: (1) knowledge; (2) skills; (3) dispositions; and (4)…

This Digest addresses the question of what young children should be learning that will best serve their development and learning in the long term. Two major dimensions of development--normative and dynamic--are explored, and four categories of learning goals are discussed: (1) knowledge; (2) skills; (3) dispositions; and (4) feelings. The view…

A project is an extended, in-depth investigation of a topic, ideally one worthy of children's attention and energy. This catalog, prepared for an annual meeting of the National Association for the Education of Young Children, combines articles explaining the project approach in the classroom with summaries of projects displayed at the meeting. It…

This digest discusses curriculum and teaching strategies for early childhood education which best serve children's long-term development. Two dimensions of development, normative and dynamic, are considered with respect to what children should be learning. Four categories of learning are identified, namely, knowledge, skills, feelings, and…

This brief report summarizes a longer document with the same title. It reviews literature on the importance of using active learning teaching techniques in the classroom, describes what active learning is, discusses how this technique can be incorporated into the classroom and identifies barriers to the use of this approach. Strategies that…

An ERIC digest considers several approaches to community study within the social studies curriculum. Material is divided into four sections. Following an introduction, "A rationale for community study" outlines skills and concepts that can be presented through community study and presents the rationale that community study can provide…

In the situated learning approach, knowledge and skills are learned in contexts that reflect how knowledge is obtained and applied in everyday situations. As an instructional strategy, situated cognition is a means for relating subject matter to learners' needs and concerns. Four major premises guide the development of classroom activities for…

Unlike units and themes in the early childhood and primary curriculum, projects are defined as children's in-depth investigations of various topics--ideally, topics worthy of the children's time and energy. As increasing numbers of teachers and school districts incorporate project work into their curriculum, questions have been raised about what…

An instructional activity is educational only when students understand its meaning and apply their understanding to future situations. Outdoor educators seek to improve teaching and learning through direct experience but, if such experiences are to be meaningful and applied to life situations, teachers must help students learn from carefully…