Required science courses can have limited interest from some students. In this article, a physics professor and a science librarian describe methods used to engage non majors in learning about science in a non-threatening way. By evaluating the science on selected web sites, and classifying the sites according to six categories (valid,…

Describes efforts in various communities to teach media literacy to students. Although networks are becoming more aware of ethnic stereotypes, other forms of stereotyping continue. Teaching students to view television with some skepticism strengthens their critical skills and reduces the idea that stereotyped certain patterns of behavior are…

Offers eight projects and activities designed to make elementary students wiser television viewers and better thinkers. The activities help students get more out of television, determine what is questionable, and develop visual literacy and thinking skills. Children become active consumers of television and other visual media. (SM)

Maintains that philosophical aesthetics must be an integral part of art education. Examines existing methods and materials for teaching philosophy to children from the Institute for the Advancement of Philosophy for Children (New Jersey). Describes a sample unit showing philosophical aesthetics in action in a fifth grade class. (KM)

International comparative studies revealed that US students' mathematics performance is not at the level of expectation of mathematics education community. The latest of such study is, Third international Mathematics Science Study-Repeat (TIMSS-R, 1999) continued show poor performance of US students in international arena. Total of 38 countries…

Background: Critical thinking disposition is an area that has been overlooked in various academic fields until recent years. Critical thinking occurs only when individuals possess thinking dispositions. This study explores the possibility of using directed viewing-thinking activity (DVTA) to cultivate the critical thinking dispositions of…

Asserts that the PBS series "The Civil War" presents historical information that can encourage critical thinking by students. Offers a lesson plan based on one program in the series, "The Cause." Provides questions for student discussion and outlines writing assignments based on the series. (CFR)

Today information about the world around people comes to them not only through words on a piece of paper, but more and more through the powerful images and sounds of their multimedia culture. This explosion in information has presented a major challenge to the world of formal education. The transformation of their culture from an industrial age to…

If media literacy is to become part of the K-12 school experience, enabling transformation in both curriculum and teaching, then teachers need to become literate first. Teachers cannot teach what they have not learned, and learned to value, themselves. Although more American teachers are becoming knowledgeable about media literacy, much remains to…

Media literacy educators from the United States regularly pay homage to their colleagues in Canada. Canadians have talked about, thought about, taught about, and written about media literacy for many years. Canada first hosted a World Conference in media literacy in Guelph, Ontario, in 1990, and all provinces in Canada now include media literacy…

In this chapter, the author presents arguments to support a school curriculum that might forge a life of justice as well as develop a rational, analytical, and critical understanding of media texts that students use in classrooms and in out-of-school contexts. First, he begins by laying out the rationale for why media literacy matters in schools.…