Presents a paper based on the Northwest Region Presidential Address given at the Manchester Metropolitan University that makes the plea that science should be at the top of the science teacher's agenda. Asserts that learning is a continuing process for both teachers and pupils. (JRH)

Synthesizes current thought in neuropsychology, philosophy of cognition, and science education. Suggests that dualistic views and those based solely on biological structural-functional analyses may be insufficient to explain the active role of the learner. Presents 10 principles of neurocognition as a context for analysis of learner-centered…

The challenge for education in today's knowledge age is developing students' capacity for sustained creative work with ideas. Although even the youngest students don't fear the abstract, working to improve ideas is an acquired disposition. Creative production is a progressive design process. Software is described in which students, as a community,…

Describes a class demonstration in which students learn about Jean Piaget's concepts of schemata, assimilation, accommodation, and equilibration. Explains that students work in pairs (but cannot see one another) where one teaches the other how to make a duplicate of an already constructed block model. (CMK)

Discusses the design and maintenance of computer-based teaching and learning environments and illustrates consequences of evolution and change in Web-based courses. Focuses on changes in content; format of the course; infrastructure, including hardware, systems, and software; and pedagogy, or instructional design, including knowledge modeling,…

Explains the fight or flight reaction and presents a hands-on activity for high school students. Uses crayfish behavior as an example. (Author/SOE)

Examined the impact of a college course that focused on intergroup relations and social conflict. Student surveys indicated that the course increased students' structural attributions for racial/ethnic inequality and socio-historical causation. In thinking or cognitive understanding and competencies, engaged learning mediated the impact of content…

Discusses plug-ins, software programs that connect to an World Wide Web browser and enhance its functionality. Highlights finding the software; downloading and using plug-ins; and educational applications, including the document viewer, real-time chat, multimedia, map viewer, spelling checker, news network, sound and video, and real-time…

Presents an activity on polar bears that integrates language arts and science. Teaches the characteristics of organisms and how distinct environments support distinct organisms. Uses both mathematics and science skills and targets students at the K-4 grade level. (YDS)

Describes a teaching approach that uses an operating classroom business to fund service learning projects. (YDS)

Presents results from a study that focused on undergraduate teaching assistants (UTAs) using in-depth written interviews with UTAs; interviews with faculty members/instructors who work with UTAs; and questionnaires from students in classes that use UTAs. States that UTAs can be useful in promoting active learning. (CMK)

Discusses factors that contribute to powerful learning experiences based on the results of two studies that examined diverse groups and more coherent groups of individuals. Topics include the highly individual nature of learning; problems that can create for instructional designers; relevance of learning to life and/or work; active learning; and…

Presents a website that addresses concepts that form a foundation for understanding ecology, pest management, and environmental ethics. Key features of the website include its self-contained, non-linear design; a learning environment that allows students to test ideas without penalty; real-world examples; and built-in assessment tools that…

Compares the effects of three different teaching methods: (1) traditional instruction through listening to a lecture, reading, and participating in discussion; (2) instruction with teacher-constructed self-teaching resources; and (3) instruction with student-constructed self-teaching resources. Determines their effectiveness and the time required…

Describes a science activity that can be implemented into anatomy and physiology courses that demonstrates the interactions between action and myosin, the roles of sodium and calcium ions in the regulation of contraction, and the functions of the plasma membrane and the sarcoplasmic reticulum. (YDS)