Maintains that Venezuela has many U.S. ties because of its relative proximity and economic significance. Asserts that the Five Themes of Geography can be used to design effective classroom lessons about Venezuela. Presents five activities that include student objectives, necessary materials, and step-by-step instructional procedures. (CFR)

Explores the importance of play in the cognitive, social, emotional, and physical development of young children. Functional, constructive, and dramatic play, and games with rules, are examined. Suggests that play is a powerful curricular tool for the kindergarten and primary classroom. Investigates ways to integrate play into the curriculum and to…

Maintains that history is stories of extraordinary and ordinary people confronting problems not unlike today. Presents and discusses five keys to history: (1) time; (2) place; (3) people--achievements and failures; (4) society--contributions and failures; and (5) connections between past, present, and future. (CFR)

Maintains that partnering history and social studies with mathematics, science, and language arts provides opportunities for relevant and meaningful history. Argues that chronology is the single most important unifying factor in history. Asserts that teachers must engage students in the why and how of history. (CFR)

Contends that a building can be a visual history book. Discusses the use of architecture as a way of teaching global studies, technological change, and social studies skills. Includes four figures and suggested ancillary activities. (CFR)

Describes the History and Technology Project (HAT) at a model technology school. Offers suggestions of suitable hardware and software, and ideas for funding. Emphasizes the goal of integrating technology into all levels of history and social science. Calls for increasing teacher-student interaction and restructuring teaching methods to reach all…

Describes the Agam program, a 36-unit curriculum program to introduce students to basic visual concepts and that applies visual abilities and visual thinking to learning tasks. Describes two units at the third grade level, "Ratio and Proportion" and "Numerical Intuition," and makes observations of the students' learning. (MDH)

New constructivist approaches to teaching and learning are at odds with much of what teachers believe. Four questionable sets of beliefs that may be obstacles to adopting a constructivist approach to teaching and learning are reviewed. Real educational reforms will require changes in many teacher ideas. (SLD)

Although universities are using sophisticated computer technology to advance research, community colleges are using computers to improve instruction. Community college faculty are working both independently and cooperatively to develop computer-based curricula and instructional techniques, and community colleges are more likely to make computers…

The effectiveness and use of the Science and Technology in Society (SATIS) materials in United Kingdom schools are summarized. Questionnaires, interviews, and classroom observations were used to collect data from both students and teachers. (KR)

A Soviet teacher recognizes the difficulty of transforming educational systems and the tendency to revert to dogmatism. Cautions against teachers uncritically adopting current pedagogical fashions. Insists the individual teacher's personality remains the primary instructional influence. Applauds efforts to democratize teacher-student relations.…

Shows how discipline-based art education developed, and relates it to Thomas S. Kuhn's theory of paradigm shifts. Critiques Gilbert Clark, Michael Day, and W. Dwaine Greer's theory of disciplined-based art education and highlights mistaken notions in the inquiry methods of curriculum specialists. Concludes that art educators should focus on how…

Suggests that educational researchers can strengthen history education by promoting educational equity and access to students not motivated by traditional approaches to teaching history. Discusses changes being considered for history education. Explains that some students may interpret primary sources or relate them to historical trends through…

If those who work for school restructuring and those who advocate more diverse curricula could unite their constituencies, they would be a significant force. Politically, these two groups often work far too separately. Both curriculum and teaching must be revised to reflect the nation's pluralist national experience. (SLD)

The Socratic method of teaching, which uses open-ended questions asked in a logical sequence, is discussed. Suggestions for structuring curriculum content around seven adult learning principles and Socratic process analysis systems for student motivation are included. (SLW)