The adoption of proficiency-based principles in second language teaching does not mean using a new method of instruction, but rather providing maximum opportunities for students to perform communicative linguistic tasks in a variety of contexts and with a given degree of accuracy. This definition has implications for the learning and teaching…

Nine studies of teaching critical thinking in universities are reviewed. A table summarizes the methodological features of the nine studies, describing each study's merits and allowing comparison across studies by criterion. A second table summarizes findings and measures used to quantify those findings. Findings are discussed in terms of measures…

This instructor's manual is designed to help in implementing a course for caregivers on individual planning for individuals with disabilities. Content notes and implementation notes for each section are provided, as are sheets for overhead projection, worksheets, and handouts. The course is organized into 19 sections to be administered in 8 hours…

This course content guide identifies the objectives that form the basis for social studies in grades four through eight in Arkansas schools. Classroom teachers, curriculum specialists, administrators, professors, and the Department of Education personnel participated in the guide's development. The information for each grade is presented into…

Arguing that the most widespread argument in favor of the teaching of programming concerns its possible impact on generalizable cognitive skills, this paper addresses the "how" of transfer. The outlines of a theory of the mechanisms of transfer are presented, the theory is used to examine the contrasts between certain studies that did…

Viewing language learning in terms of the development of proficiency has important implications for the process of curriculum development in English as a second language. A proficiency-oriented curriculum derives not from an analysis of the language code, but from an analysis of target language behaviors. The interest is in both the product and…

A curriculum model for teaching Arabic that closely follows the "Natural Approach" is outlined. The method stresses skill development through language use in a variety of realistic situations from the outset of the course. It differs from traditional approaches to Arabic instruction in its emphasis on the communication of meaningful…

This collection of reading activities was designed to give classroom teachers in Kentucky a variety of approaches, options, and techniques for teaching the essential skills in reading. The activities and skills are organized into units according to grade level; one series of activities follows each reading objective determined to be an indicator…

After presenting a series of assumptions about the teaching of playwriting (for example, that students can be taught the craft, if not the art, of playwriting; students must be kept to a strict deadline if they are to develop into disciplined writers; and playwriting should never be discussed outside the context of production possibilities), this…

A study examined growth in oral reading fluency in second, third, and fourth grade students after a treatment of intensive instruction. The 53 subjects were assigned to either an experimental or a control group, and all were administered form A of the Diagnostic Screening Test: Reading, to determine their independent reading level, instructional…

This paper addresses ways in which regular art teachers can effectively serve students with mental disabilities and ways in which administrators can guide their districts regarding integrated situations in art education. A rationale is offered for including art education in the education of students with mental disabilities. Factors to be…

The purpose of this paper is to provide teachers with four adaptable designs that can be used to reinforce geographic-social studies knowledge. Adaptable designs are defined as structural formats that can be used repeatedly to teach different concepts and skills. The paper first discusses the advantageous features of adaptable designs and presents…

The 12 activities presented in this pamphlet are intended to help make vocabulary study a stimulating experience for both teacher and student. The activities are as follows: (1) a commercially prepared list of suggestions for vocabulary development, (2) an exercise designed to relate vocabulary study to every day reading, (3) a variation of the…

Focusing on outdoor education and recreation for the young child (ages 3 to 5), the paper addresses the meaning of outdoor activities, their attractiveness for young children, preschool and outdoor activities used at St. Andrew's in Columbus, Ohio, and characteristics of young children. Outdoor activities are defined as all pursuits that provide…

This paper deals with the primary processes of cognition in fifth- and sixth-grade children; i.e., how children this age interpret what they see and hear, how they remember it, and how they reason and solve problems. Designed to provide background information for the staff of the Skills Essential to Learning Television Project (a multi-level…