Examines ways in which a principal of a racially and ethnically diverse school improved harmony and respect through listening to students' opinions. Reviews how to conduct a student survey and student town meetings for the exchange of ideas. Honest dialogue is essential to any effort to improve student relations. (SLD)

The emergence of open education at the level of graduate study, characterized by more individualized study, distance education, and increased use of technology, is changing the roles and relationship of teacher and student. It will become increasingly important to acknowledge these changed physical boundaries and adjust teaching accordingly. (MSE)

Discussion of distance education in higher education focuses on guidelines and standards developed by the American Federation of Teachers. Highlights include faculty role; course design; student role; personal interaction via electronic communication; class size; course content; subject offerings; information literacy, both electronic and print;…

A series of twelve books on language teaching, written over a period of ten years, is reviewed. The series' intent is to promote the practice of informed teaching to empower student teachers to act as autonomous agents and to make considered pedagogic choices, based on sound theoretical knowledge, according to their particular teaching/learning…

Discusses the service projects at Hoover Elementary School in Iowa City, Iowa that link economic education, service learning, and global education. Describes one project where the students involved the community in sending educational materials and financial aid to a school in Brazil. (CMK)

Asserts that conflict is inherent in school culture, and that respect and responsibility cannot be imposed on students. Explains that when these values become part of the norm of everyday interactions between students and adults in school, improvement will occur. Recommends character education, peer mentoring, and peer conflict mediation.…

Even though social studies teachers may value discussion of controversial issues, such practice is rare in most social studies classrooms. Nystrand, Gamoran, and Carbonaro (1998) reported that 90 percent of the instruction they observed in more than one hundred middle and high school classes involved no discussion at all. What teachers cite as…

The author considers his first ten years at a state university in the Midwest as horrible years. In this time he experienced much hostility and racism in a "college culture," which to him was "distinctly alien and unfriendly." It had reached the point, after a number of years, where he was consulting attorneys for a possible racial discrimination…

Our examination of three schools demonstrates how students can be involved in school reform by giving input about problems, helping design the reform, and sharing implementation responsibilities with adult leaders. Their involvement affects both the reform--as students leave their fingerprints on it--and the students themselves, who show signs of…

The author first talks about the current situation of teaching EFL in higher education institutions in Taiwan, and indicates that the Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) Approach has been the most popular language teaching approach lately. Then he addresses the hybrid course approach which seems to be a trend as well as an appropriate way for…

This article was originally written on the internet in Australia to provide a starting point for discussions of new perspectives on education made possible by advanced technologies. Ecosocial changes in the practices and institutions called education are discussed in the context of changes in the practices and institutions called information…

Dynamic Learning Communities (DLCs) offer an alternative approach to the traditional Instructional Design (ID) format for learning. This paper outlines the concept of a dynamic learning community as an alternative to teacher-controlled or pre-designed instructional systems. DLCs are groups of people, who form a learning community generally…

This paper describes an interactive strategy for the instruction of critical thinking taking place in a middle school in Dade County, Florida. The project involves integration of critical thinking and brainstorming, using the quality circle approach. Based on developmental characteristics, certain principles impact middle school curricula: (1) the…

Most academic advising conducted in the California Community Colleges is accomplished through a formal system administered by professional academic advisors/counselors. With recent cutbacks in funding, the amount of academic advisor time available to an increasing number of students is decreasing. In an effort to increase the availability of…

Contract learning is an alternative way of structuring a learning experience. Instead of specifying how a body of content will be transmitted (content plan), it specifies how a body of content will be acquired by the learner (process plan). Students identify problems or issues that are real for them and relevant to the course at hand, state…