Describes a community project (based on Kenneth Koch's book "I Never Told Anybody") in which students in a ninth-grade English class paired up with nursing home residents, making regular visits to encourage them to write poetry. Discusses finding a place, getting ready, working together, and what students learned about writing poetry and about…

Discusses the use of computer-assisted language learning (CALL) in the world of education, focusing on new paradigms, types of CALL environments, and characteristics of technology-rich schools. Several sidebars discuss technology types for CALL, what is needed to create a CALL environment, building a computer lab, and student-project Internet…

Describes a project using city and town archives to explore important issues in U.S. history for Advanced Placement American history courses. Relates how town death, birth, or marriage records can be used by students as the stimuli for research projects on larger trends in demographic, social, or political history. (DSK)

Recounts the development of a CyberPals project between Redlands Unified School District (California) and Plymouth Village Retirement Community (California) to connect students with seniors via electronic mail. Discusses how the project was incorporated into the elementary social studies curriculum and its impact on the students. (DSK)

Summarizes a geography unit for elementary school students that allows them to explore the social geography of their own local environment and compare it with those of students in partner schools around the world via the Internet. Includes suggestions for teachers who wish to create their own projects. (DSK)

Argues that language is the primary vehicle through which stereotyping is perpetuated. Outlines assignments that offer students an opportunity to explore gender stereotyping, to learn to recognize and combat gender bias, and to treat others equally, regardless of gender. Notes also some statewide programs that address these issues and help…

A Seattle (Washington) third-grade class's curiosity about the school's neighborhood spiraled into a student-centered, experiential community research project that integrated several curriculum requirements, especially math and writing. Learning through the questioning process, such as by developing hypotheses and interview questions, develops…

The realization that students' and teachers' collaborative efforts are more creative, innovative, and academically challenging than traditional teacher-controlled instruction is the underlying premise behind these awards given by the Foxfire Fund. Describes the learner-centered experiences of seven award-winning classrooms from around the United…

Relates how a local teen court was established in Knox County, Illinois. Discusses the teen court concept, the purpose of such courts, and their relationship to official courts. Describes the Knox County Teen Court's development of a Web site and the benefits that it has brought to the community. (DSK)

Describes strategies for teaching middle school students in a manner that promotes inclusion while allowing for individual differences, including the needs of special-needs students. Strategies discussed include the use of journals, student designed projects, hands-on experiences, and role play or simulation. (DB)

A study investigated the effects of service-learning projects conducted by 255 student teachers and designed in cooperation with their cooperating teachers. Drawing on survey and case-study data, it was found that classroom-based service-learning projects, if structured carefully, can contribute to student-teacher empowerment and enhanced…

One college teacher has devised a method of peer assessment of student presentations that has decreased the spread of grades given to individuals by other class members and enhanced the correlation of peer and teacher assessments. Four aspects of the presentation are graded: knowledge; body language; voice; and overall effect. (Author/MSE)

A seventh-grade teacher describes how her students gradually became engaged in a year-long project on Thoreau. Although initially resistant and unenthusiastic, the students became interested after two field trips involving living-history experiences, and went on to write a play involving Thoreau, his contemporary and 20th-century…

In a small rural high school in Balmorhea, Texas, business students helped to establish a school-based clinic. Students wrote grant applications, learned medical office skills, structured the business curriculum around their project, and involved other students. Cooperation with Texas Tech Medical School led to a full-service community clinic…

Describes a case study involving the implementation of computer-mediated communications via the Internet linking two university instructional design classes in two different countries. Includes examples from student discussions, demonstrates the impact of discussions on the design projects, and considers access to computers and implications for…