Recommends incorporating the study of peace into the established curriculum in language, literature, and social studies. Suggests teaching concepts of peace and conflict resolution by relating such concepts to students' own lives and expanding these concepts. Includes class activities such as brainstorming, experiencing conflict resolution, and…

During a six-week methods course for preservice elementary school teachers, student pairs were asked to solve a problem and record their experiences in a dairy. Presented are the dairy entries of two students as they worked on determining the number of squares that can be formed on a five-peg geoboard. (MDH)

A class in which students learn about the roles that chemical engineers play in a variety of industries is described. Outlines from the first two class offerings and discussions of the use of guest speakers, videos, plant visits, student projects, and grading are included. (KR)

Describes microcomputer use in an introductory sociology course. Augments course objectives with tutorials on test items. Evaluates computer integration with an experimental design comparing traditional and computerized sociology courses. Finds the computerized group outperforms the traditional group. Suggests students of all ability levels…

Reviews economics teaching methods in England in light of curriculum reform there. Explains economics' cross-curricular status in England's national curriculum. Stresses students' experiential learning in simulations, interview projects, and a minienterprise approach in which students produce and market goods. Describes one elementary school's…

Critiques James Barth, Robert Barr, and Sam Shermis' three social studies traditions theory and National Commission on Social Studies task force report. Argues first falsely splits essential social studies components; second creates a curricular hodgepodge. Highlights need to consider values as both affective and cognitive and to create…

Presents suggestions to help elementary teachers organize learning centers and activities around the themes of Peter Rabbit (Grade 1), weather (Grade 3), and bees (Grade 5). Suggestions are given for activities in centers for listening/reading, language arts, computers, math, science, cooperative learning, research, and writing. (SM)

Discusses future directions for training teachers of students with visual impairments, based on relevant literature and the history of teacher preparation at George Peabody College (Tennessee). Two issues are examined: how to train enough teachers and how to provide the necessary competencies for teaching children with various abilities. (SM)

Study examined science methods courses and characteristics of instructors (n=65). Of the responding institutions, 24% had only a general methods course. Most science methods courses were for three credits. Instructors were mainly male with an average age of 50 years. Differences were found between three groups of faculty teaching science methods:…

The effects of gender and behavior as perceived by teachers on their judgments of the academic skills of their students were studied for 794 students in kindergarten through grade 2 in public and parochial schools. Results show that teacher perceptions are a significant part of their scholastic judgments. (SLD)

Argues that perception studies and ranking are lacking in validity and reliability because of small sample size, simplistic statistical analyses, and the evaluation of quality by educators. It is asserted that quality control is more valid when evaluated by the customers of education, i.e., the students. (11 references) (EA)

Reports the current state of preservice and inservice teacher education with respect to the use of technology in the classroom. Aspects of preservice education discussed include financial support, availability, student skills, accreditation standards for preparation, and field experiences. Aspects of inservice education discussed include technical…

Describes the method of having children observe videotapes of other children's mathematics activities to gain insights into the observing children's thought processes and the observed children's activities. Discusses the applications of this method as a research tool and as a probe for classroom teachers in evaluating students. (MDH)

Reports research examining the effects of writing activities on mathematics achievement. Results indicate that prewriting activities, such as modeling or prompts, are essential and that regular, systematic writing over an extended period can improve students' performance in, and attitude toward, mathematics. (15 references) (MDH)

Analyzed survey responses of 226 mathematics teachers from 57 Australian high schools concerning the use of writing in mathematics classrooms. Findings suggested that writing is rarely used as a strategy for teaching mathematics and when it is used, its effectiveness is limited. Includes the Writing in Mathematics questionnaire. (44 references)…