Discusses two steps, focusing on improvisation, that teachers can follow in planning music lessons. Addresses how to include improvisation in the general music classroom by focusing on two different age groups: (1) kindergarten through grade three; and (3) grades four to six. (CMK)

Michigan State University's College of Human Medicine has added modules on developmental screening to the second-year medical curriculum, teaching students to specialize their basic interviewing and physical assessment skills by considering the patient's developmental stage as well as age-specific risks, issues, and concerns. (MSE)

The case of Mary Ellen, whose maltreatment as a child began the organized response to child abuse in the United States, is reviewed. The paper emphasizes Mary Ellen's rescue from her stepmother, her life after intervention, and her meaningful and productive life as a wife and mother. (JDD)

Verbal think-aloud protocols were collected from 60 subjects in 3 age groups ranging from 25 through 81 years. Only 5 percent of the responses were considered wise when rated on the criteria of rich factual and procedural knowledge, lifespan contextualism, relativism, and the recognition and management of uncertainty. Wise responses were equally…

The child's psychosocial and physiological development are discussed in terms of a limiting environment and program expectations. Some factors to consider are (1) heredity and heritage; (2) experience; (3) maturation; (4) social transmission; and (5) equilibration. Sensitive educators must prepare the environment for the child, not for the…

Describes the benefits and drawbacks of teaching a course outside one's area of expertise. Claims this enhances faculty development and alleviates burnout. Finds the positive aspects, personal and institutional, outweigh the negative. Results show favorable student evaluations. (Author/NL)

Linnakyla examines definitions of literacy as an object of individual and social development and compares concepts of knowledge and literacy. Gronholm advocates the effectiveness of parents reading aloud to their children for 15 minutes per day in the improvement of children's reading skills. (SK)

Major life changes and role transitions, though often treated as stressors necessitating adjustment, in fact produce a wide range of effects on mental health. Focusing on the role context within which transition events occur, finds that life transitions can be nonproblematic or even beneficial when preceded by chronic role problems. (AF)

Explores how foreign language teachers can respond to students'"system-building" need as well as their grammar and communicative needs, focusing on the implications of such new English-as-a-Foreign-Language trends as the return to grammar instruction, individual development, and the theory of depth processing. (CB)

Tested a two-step infant preventive intervention model. Subjects were 147 multiproblem mothers and their infants. Data partially supported the model. Additional analyses explored factors associated with individual differences in delivery of services and response to treatment. (RH)

State officers of secondary Distributive Education Clubs of America (n=142) expressed a high degree of satisfaction with the benefits of participation. Personal and professional development opportunities were experienced in the areas of leadership development, vocational understanding, civic consciousness, and social intelligence. (SK)

Positively correlated were verbal fluency scores and scores for strategies expected to distinguish levels of verbal fluency among 64 third-graders and 71 sixth-graders. When a smaller sample of similarly aged students completed expanded versions of tasks, results revealed grade and gender differences in strategy use and level of task performance.…

Reviews literature on effects of early maladjustment on later behavior problems. Discusses development as transactional process in which risk and resilience are central, a cumulative risk model of behavior problems as resulting from a variety of factors, and longitudinal research that focuses on externalizing behaviors. Concludes predictive power…

A strategy for transferring learning from adventure experiences to daily life situations incorporates the use of isomorphs and metaphors. Explains how to develop isomorphic frames and select metaphoric experiences that can be used in adventure programming, especially with clients in therapy. (LP)

A qualitative research project with 71 successful adults with learning disabilities found that their individual achievements shared commonalities which can be taught and learned. A model of vocational success is presented which inculcates behaviors that facilitate adult adjustment. The model's focus is on student strengths rather than weaknesses.…