The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of an analogy activity designed to overcome junior high school students' misconceptions about the microscopic views of phase change. Eighth grade students (N=80) were randomly assigned to either a control group receiving traditional teaching, or an experimental group participating in the…

The conflict in Bosnia (Yugoslavia) has confronted U.S. leaders with fundamental questions about the use and capability of U.S. power abroad. This document brings the decision facing the United States into the classroom. The unit features a set of four divergent options for U.S. policy toward the Bosnian conflict, and a brief account of…

A Scottish study investigated qualities contributing to or detracting from an oral foreign language test's ability to test communicative competence in conversation. The study was undertaken in French, German, and Spanish second language classes in the third and fourth years of secondary school. Pupil discourse competence was assessed during verbal…

Role play (a dramatic technique in which individuals improvise behaviors that illustrate acts expected of persons involved in defined situations) has several advantages for the classroom. Role play: (1) involves little or no additional instructional costs; (2) allows students to practice behaviors and skills; (3) closes the gap between training…

In English-as-a-Second-Language instruction at the Semmelweiss Medical University (Hungary), the giving of prepared talks is incorporated into instruction in three forms: (1) independently-composed problem-posing presentation of a written text; (2) prepared talk on a medical topic of general interest, selected by student or teacher; and (3)…

A suicide intervention training program is described which was developed as a three and one half hour presentation to small groups of paraprofessionals or professionals who might serve as telephone hot-line staff members. Theoretical assumptions upon which the program is based are listed in the areas of communication-skills training models, crisis…

Designed to motivate eighth-grade civics students in the study of the United States Constitution, this game is intended to simulate the basic problems faced by the delegates to the Philadelphia Convention of 1787. The four parts of the game introduce the governmental concepts of the bicameral legislature, the executive branch, the judicial branch,…

Management processes of planning, organizing, directing, and motivating are vital to schools and industries alike. Accordingly, this module, the first in a series of two, has been developed as a training guide using the Hersey-Blanchard approach to leadership styles. It can help build principal-faculty relationships, superintendent-governing board…

The articles in this journal issue suggest techniques for classroom use of literature that has "withstood the test of time." The titles of the articles and their authors are as follows: (1) "The Storytelling Connection for the Classics" (Mary Ellen Martin); (2) "Elizabeth Bennet: A Liberated Woman" (Geneva Marking);…

Careful audience analysis should be a major focus of the rhetorical side of technical writing courses for university undergraduates. Student writers need to be taught to appreciate their readers' problems, interests, and motives. Most often, audience analysis is accomplished imaginatively--authors create mental images of their readers. Students…

The literature on role-playing as a classroom instructional technique for English as a second language has addressed its benefits in improved acquisition of language or linguistic skills, communicative skills, cross-cultural skills, and interpersonal skills. However, promoters of role-playing may have set their goals too high and may be wasting…

Mother Goose is well suited to use in the elementary ESL classroom for several reasons. The stories appeal to children's imagination, adhering to the principle that a good story should have surprise value, interesting characters, meaningful conflict, action, and realism. The natural rhythms help develop English intonation, and the stories…

A small group of college students studying writing in English as a second language was assigned a written report on the university's contributions to the community. The required tasks included compilation of data, delivery of oral reports, composition of the research report, group communication, revision of drafts, documentation of sources, and…

A general education cluster course structure at the State University of New York, Plattsburgh, is described. Philosophy, anthropology, and geography classes met separately to cover the different disciplines, and joint sessions for learning exercises were held. Cluster course objectives were: to provide undergraduates with a broad and integrative…

The research summaries in this monograph provide a discussion of play in young children as well as examinations of differences, values, and interventions associated with children's play. Following an introduction to the topic, four articles examine differences in children's play: two articles focus on sex stereotyping in preschoolers'…