The student population in contemporary public middle schools is growing increasingly more diverse. While heterogeneously grouped classrooms are consistent with middle school philosophy as well as recommendations from leading middle school advocacy groups, many teachers in these settings seem to downplay the differences among the students and…

This article discusses learning within the corporate environment. Comparing objectivist and constructivist theories of learners and learning, the author presents her views from a constructivist approach. Three learning methods are discussed: (1) Problem-based; (2) Cooperative and (3) Situated. A background of each is included, noting outcomes…

A teaching programme based on relational pedagogy (Baxter Magolda, 1993a) was implemented to foster the development of epistemological beliefs in twenty-nine pre-service teacher education students at a large metropolitan university in Australia. Epistemological beliefs are those personally held beliefs about the nature and structure of knowing.…

An organic garden operated as a community supported agriculture (CSA) venture on the New Mexico State University (NMSU) main campus was begun in January 2002. Students enroll in an organic vegetable production class during spring and fall semesters to help manage and work on the project. The CSA model of farming involves the sale of shares to…

A strategic instruction model introduced into adult basic education classrooms yields insight into the feasibility of using direct and explicit instruction with adults with learning disabilities or other cognitive barriers to learning. Ecobehavioral assessment was used to describe and compare instructor-learner interaction patterns during learning…

We discuss the development of an instructional design model, WisCom (Wisdom Communities), based on socio-constructivist and sociocultural learning philosophies and distance education principles for the development of online wisdom communities, and the application and evaluation of the model in an online graduate course in the USA. The WisCom model…

The relationship between conceptions of teaching and approaches to teaching was explored in a study of 18 secondary school art teachers in Hong Kong. Conceptions of teaching approaches were fitted to a four-category model. Each of the categories was distinguished by reference to six relevant dimensions. As is the case in higher education,…

Teaming incorporates an ever expanding curriculum, without an overlapping of subjects, by a collaboration of teachers and students learning from one discipline to another. Through the teaming approach to teaching, the child gains from the emotional, motivational, and enrichment of interrelationships of different subject teachers. Stimulation for…

A popular image today is that students are "consumers" and teachers are "producers" and "sellers" of education. Many in academia claim that economic metaphors distort and corrupt the true nature of education and they offer a variety of alternative images of the relationships between teachers and students: traveler/guide, worker/boss, artistic…

A quasi-experimental, treatment-control group investigation was designed to test the effects of a preservice training course in direct instruction methodology for secondary education teachers. Previous findings from teacher-effects research and cognitive strategy instruction were translated into two direct instructional models: a model of…

Mediation or conflict resolution training has been effective in a variety of settings. Using the components of the process (active listening, cooperation, acceptance of differences, creative problem solving, and empathetic responses) students learn to deal with anger and to work with others so as to arrive at solutions peacefully. Some of the…

At present, teachers' inservice training assumes an enormous importance in the realization of educational reforms in European countries. This paper describes several descriptive models for teacher training. Then, the development of inservice training is examined according to the "change paradigm" and the "problem-solving…

This report presents a collection of teaching models to help college faculty improve their teaching. Six categories of teaching models are presented: (1) assessment and feedback models, including the Classroom Assessment model created by Angelo and Cross and already widely used among community college faculty; (2) discussion and sharing models,…

In introductory psychology courses, the desire to cover content can conflict with the desire to acquaint students with psychological thinking processes. The IDEAL method is a group problem solving quiz technique which addresses both of these goals. In the process, instructors choose key concepts from a given reading and divide the class into…

This book presents the theory and application of the Supportive Play Model (SPM), an intervention approach that incorporates best practices of the therapeutic, educational, and mental health fields. The model provides a systematic process for observing and understanding the play and development of young children with special needs and a…