Educators, concerned with disturbing trends in school failure, are arguing for more learner-centered models of schooling. Such a reform effort requires set principles that emphasize the active and reflective nature of learning and learners; 14 such principles are reported here. The immediate goal of this report is to provide a framework that can…

This digest examines the practical significance for rural communities of the emerging national information infrastructure, highlights some potential pitfalls, and draws connections to rural education. During the 1980s, computers and computer networks became increasingly commonplace, and in the early 1990s, the Internet and World Wide Web emerged…

This text presents educational philosophy mainly as a variety of philosophical thinking, or thought, which includes both process and content or method and principles. More specifically, the text takes such intellectual activity chiefly to be the quest for a certain kind of understanding, the quest that the ancient Greeks called "the love of…

This paper was developed in response to South Carolina House Bill 3767, which would eliminate the granting of tenure to faculty at all public, senior institutions in the state. It explores the origins and history of tenure, the attainment and retention of tenure, and the reasons why the state should continue to grant tenure at state institutions…

Place-based education is a relatively new term, but progressive educators have promoted the concept for over 100 years. Place-based education usually includes conventional outdoor education and experiential methodologies as advocated by John Dewey to help students connect with their particular corner of the world. Proponents of place-based…

This paper describes the Educational Software Components of Tomorrow (ESCOT) project. The focus of the project was on principles that support problem-solving and learner-centered design issues, and the purpose was to garner lessons from a large educational software development project to share with the learning sciences and other interested…

This paper reemphasizes the purpose of teaching, which is to help students learn how to learn. Attention is focused on two areas: leadership in the classroom and appropriate use of technology. The right leadership style will motivate students to give extra effort in the course. Specific examples are provided. Building on the concept of teacher…

This paper examines how teachers, as educational designers, can utilize universal design for learning (UDL) concepts. UDL is a comprehensive approach to the design of educational systems that addresses elements necessary for the achievement of desired educational goals and objectives: elements such as equity among the participants, environmental…

This paper describes J. Rosengren's post-final assignment and M. Harmin's truth signs activity that were incorporated into a secondary science methods course for preservice teachers. The strength of the post-final assignment is that it is a strategy for extending student learning past the end of a course and even beyond the initial teaching…

In many countries, often at great personal cost, teachers and education support staff are at the forefront of the struggle for basic trade union and human rights. This book acknowledges their contributions. It also draws inspiration and hope from their efforts to show that a commitment to the interests of every child, to quality education, and to…

In many states technology standards for students have focused on basic computer skills, but more standards are beginning to focus on identifying technology skills that students need for school and the workplace. In most states in the Southern Region, technology standards for students are based on the National Educational Technology Standards for…

This article argues that the standard tenets of the teaching of children also apply to the ways in which programs are implemented: they run on tentativeness, flexibility, and problem-solving. How these qualities reveal themselves in five important areas is discussed in the following sections: (1) standards and guidelines for delivering Reading…

As a new century approaches it is time to re-assess the foundations on which instructional design currently rests, as well as the "mode of thinking" that it promotes. Traditional theories regarding instructional design have largely been implicitly based on out-moded eighteenth century conceptions of the physical universe (a mechanistic world view)…

This monograph is a guide to positive behavioral intervention and support (PBIS) and functional behavioral assessment (FBA) in the special education of students with behavior disorders as emphasized in the 1997 amendments to the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA 97). An introduction explains that positive behavioral support represents the…

This brief guide presents principles and suggestions to help individuals who are deaf-blind enjoy and benefit from participation in recreational activities. Some considerations discussed are to: (1) start with the individual and determine what he or she is interested in, focusing on the selection of safe, age-appropriate activities; (2) research…