Naturalistic observation and questioning of children grades 1-6 in school library media centers investigated their intentions, purposes, search terms, strategies, successes, and breakdowns in accessing fiction through Online Public Access Catalogs (OPACs). Presents a framework of perspectives (individual, social cultural, task, time and timing) to…

Discusses how to meet elementary school student and staff needs for computer access with a hub of networked computers in the library media center. Topics include types of use, including word processing, desktop publishing, curriculum support, and multimedia presentations; scheduling; assigning staff responsibilities; and suggested allocation of…

Advocates reconceptualizing visual arts as a core subject embodying key elements of experiential learning and critical thinking through an interdisciplinary approach. Illustrates this approach with a discussion of the interconnected issues surrounding family snapshots (social history, aesthetics, technological advancement). Discusses issues of…

Presents a historical and pedagogical overview of various types of schools (for example, Montessori, laboratory schools, traditional). Attempts to classify these schools according to types of consciousness (for example, mythological, scientific, workshop) and types of social communities and activities. Considers the interrelation between the…

Suggests a number of questions that can be used to structure a small-group discussion about the interpretation of visual images. Argues for the necessity of critical interpretation of visual information as an increasing degree of geographic information becomes visualized. Includes several teaching tips. (MJP)

Discusses the relationship between the prominence of themes of the literate gentry woman in Chinese fiction and the rise of women poets. Examines later Japanese fiction to find influences of the woman reader and of earlier Chinese works. Explores the scholar-beauty novels, women as warriors, female martyrdom, and the equating of virtue with…

Examines the role of technology in (1) the move toward national science standards; (2) science curriculum changes; (3) hands-on science; (4) the potential of networking teachers; and (5) science assessment. Lists products for a new science literacy and support, services, and resources for science teachers. (MDH)

Outlines methods to promote effective curriculum development through faculty-librarian partnerships. Recognition of the role of librarians as instructors is discussed related to: position descriptions and workloads; flexible work standards; joint appointments; compensation for added instructional loads, including temporary or part-time…

Presents advice on how Montessori elementary teachers can create a vital arts program in the classroom. Promotes literacy in artistic language, the importance of visual observation, and the importance of teachers educating themselves. Provides a materials list and artwork suggestions for teachers, including creating a visual journal, drawing,…

Profiles an undergraduate college class that critically examines newspaper, map, and poster representations of the developing nations. Beginning exercises reveal how a person's gender, race, and background influence his or her construction and interpretation of cultural images. Includes a 29-item bibliography concerning deconstruction of images…

Examines students' initiations during teacher-led read-alouds of information books in an urban first-grade classroom. This process allows students multiple opportunities to share authority and direct the classroom's work and talk, thus allowing teachers to view them as knowledgeable, capable discussants speaking as experts about information books.…

Discusses teaching information literacy in academic libraries and describes programs developed at California State University that considered new technologies; changing student characteristics, enrollment patterns, and skills; determining authenticity and quality of information sources, particularly on the Internet; curriculum development;…

The paper presents the results of an evaluation research that studied the impact of a nationwide home intervention program, the Mother-Child Education Program, on both children and mothers immediately after the termination of the program and at the end of the children's first year of formal schooling. A pre/post control group quasiexperimental…

Much has been written about the power of media to influence the public through instruments of advertising and a variety of venues (Considine & Haley, 1999; Cortes, 2000; Kilbourne, 1999). In this chapter, the author has chosen to use a singular media focus--news--to support the critical importance of teaching media literacy skills to students. She…

The Tanganyika Library Service (TLS) was the national public library service set up in Tanzania, East Africa, in the 1960s. By the end of the decade, it was generally regarded as a model of Western-style public library development in Africa. This is an account of its establishment and early years based on accessible documentary sources in Tanzania…