The compendium of articles in this journal issue deal with the diverse components of the language arts, communication, and critical thinking curricula. The titles and authors of the articles are as follows: (1) "What to Do until the Doctor Comes: Speech in the Language Arts Classroom" (John Fortier); (2) "Teaching and Thinking…

The kind of literacy education currently valued in America has been ineffective in teaching more thoughtful literacy skills. A sociocognitive approach to literacy instruction focuses on developing the thinking skills that students will use as they engage in socially purposeful activities. Teachers, tests, and instructional materials in this…

Educational revitalization is crucial for a nation facing a 20 percent functional illiteracy rate, as well as increasing foreign industrial challenges. Like America's auto manufacturers who returned to business basics and thus achieved a $10 billion reversal of fortunes in just 3 years, educators in a technical society must define their own…

Project CAPABLE (Classroom Action Program: Aim: Basic Learning Efficiency) is a classroom approach which integrates the basic learning skills with content. The goal of the project is to use basic learning skills to enhance the learning of content and at the same time use the content to teach basic learning skills. These monthly teacher workshop…

The Educational Technology Center (ETC) has devoted the last five years to studying ways of using the computer and other information technologies to teach understanding in science, mathematics, and computing in the nation's elementary and secondary schools. The Center's research has focused on targets of difficulty, topics and concepts that are…

A special transitional course (College Success) developed for college freshmen at the State University of New York College at Cortland is described in this report. Designed to meet standard problems of transition from high school to college and deal with detected deficits in learning and studying skills, it offers small group experience on issues…

Reviews research on effective teaching methods for teachers of American Indian and Metis students. Outlines factors inhibiting school success. Discusses learning style theories and language and cultural barriers. Summarizes effective methods, processes, context, structures, resources in four categories: classroom organization,…

This guide is designed as a community-based resource for women who are interested in developing leadership skills in group facilitation, community building, and community action. It provides an integrated feminist anti-oppression learning framework that links social justice issues and the questions of race, gender, class, and all other forms of…

The papers in this collection fall into three categories. Part 1, "Overview of Research," includes "New Directions in Language Anxiety Research" (Dolly Jesusita Young) and "Native Genderlects and Their Relation to Gender Issues in Second Language Classrooms: The Sex of Our Students as a Sociolinguistic Variable" (Lydie E. Meunier). Part 2,…

This guide describes development of the problem-based approach of GED as project. It is Volume 1 of a proposed four-volume series. Section 1 describes the concept of GED as project, thinking and problem solving, successful intelligence, and integration of content and skills. Section 2 covers GED as project implementation using learning projects…

The percentage of adults aged 65 years or older is expected to increase from 12 percent of the population in 1980 to more than 21 percent by the year 2030. Since many adults stay involved with learning activities well into their 80s and 90s, educational organizations have a great opportunity to supply learning activities to this population. To…

This research brief is published at the mid-way point of a five-year study that is analyzing a spectrum of programs in four states to identify outstanding English instruction in secondary schools. Outstanding schools are defined as those whose students beat the odds and outscore their peers in comparable skills on high-stakes, standardized test of…

This booklet is a collection of articles addressing current issues in early childhood education. The first article, "Would You Like to Pack Away Now?: Improving the Quality of Talk in Early Childhood Programs," (Laurie Makin) addresses how teachers talk to children. The second article, "Persistence When It's Difficult: A Disposition…

Problem-based learning is an approach to structuring the curriculum which involves confronting students with problems from practice which provide a stimulus for learning. However, there are many possible forms that a curriculum and process for teaching and learning might take and still be compatible with this definition. This book explores these…

In cooperative learning environments, small groups of students work together to accomplish specific pedagogical tasks, and teachers act as facilitators. One highly significant characteristic of cooperative learning that has received little consideration so far is the shift in the participation frame that takes place when students are left alone to…