The recent drug scare has intensified some programs' social control functions. Through drug abuse prevention programs in particular, schools have encouraged the accumulation of social skills as a means to ensure success, and they have increasingly applied authoritarian sanctions along with psychological manipulations in an attempt to regulate…

Analyzes teacher and student conceptions of the meaning of history, exploring factors which shape them, and the relationship among teacher conceptions, the curriculum, and student conceptions. Data collection included interviews and observations. Concludes that teachers should explicitly discuss historical purpose, patterns, generalizability, and…

Causes of cognitive underdevelopment in Zulu children and the cognitive functions necessary for efficient school learning are outlined. To assess potential for learning and to remediate cognitive underfunctioning, 20 secondary students analyzed, organized, and reproduced a complex geometric figure. Positive effects were evident following specific…

A survey of part-time degree students in British postsecondary education looked at student attitudes, background, and resources and policies and practice related to recruitment and admission, curriculum and assessment, course structure, student facilities, and student support. (MSE)

Presents results of a survey of 37 university-level content reading specialists in which the specialists listed teaching practices that content teachers could incorporate into their teaching to help students learn from texts. Recommends: (1) using multiple texts; (2) using study guides; (3) teaching metacognitive strategies; and (4) direct…

Provides reviews of instructional modules suitable for use in a Science-Technology-Society (STS) approach. Includes reviews of print and video materials dealing with clean water, investigating environmental issues, acid rain, toxic waste, scientific decision making, radioactive waste, and consumerism. (TW)

Discusses (1) activities that encourage students to use formal vocabulary; (2) the use of computers to motivate remedial readers to write; and (3) a pilot study in which sustained silent reading and writing was used to improve the literacy of seventh and eighth grade remedial students.

Considers: (1) research by George Hillocks using meta-analysis to examine four modes of composition instruction; (2) role playing in classroom to improve student writing of persuasive letters or opinion essays; (3) process approach to English instruction, which allows for complex nature of individual learning styles; and (4) resource for promising…

The best way to determine the scope of the clinical education of medical students is to define competencies expected of newly graduated physicians (exit objectives). These objectives ensure that the scope of education includes the content, teaching/learning methods, and evaluation techniques that will result in a competent, professional product.…

Discusses educational efforts in the fields of Computer Assisted Design and Manufacturing (CAD/CAM). Describes two educational training initiatives underway in the United Kingdom, one of which is a resource materials package for teachers of CAD/CAM at the undergraduate level, and the other a training course for managers of CAD/CAM systems. (TW)

"Harvard Education Letter" is published bimonthly at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. This issue of "Harvard Education Letter" contains the following articles: (1) Talking 'bout Evolution: High School Science Teachers Share Strategies for Dealing with Controversy in the Classroom (Nancy Walser); (2) Standards-Based…

This book provides research, practical methods, detailed strategies, and resources for read-aloud, shared, guided, and independent reading. In addition, the author outlines solutions for many of the literacy dilemmas that teachers face every day: (1) understanding what gets in the way of reading; (2) rethinking and reorganizing time and resources;…

Across the country, states are pushing to close their small rural schools with the mistaken hope of saving money, in spite of overwhelming evidence that smaller schools are beneficial for students, and that they frequently function as the glue that binds together small communities, serving as their economic and social hub. The battle is even more…

"Alabama Education News" is published monthly except for June, July, and December by the Alabama Department of Education. This publication, authorized by Section 16-2-4 of the "Code of Alabama", as recompiled in 1975, is a public service of the Alabama Department of Education designed to inform citizens and educators about…

Anyone who has worked as a teacher or principal in an elementary school understands the value of reliable and valid assessments of early reading progress. In order to implement an effective reading program, schools should have a coordinated plan for using screening, progress monitoring, diagnostics and outcome measures to guide instruction and to…