Asserts that sexual harassment is a major problem in schools. Presents a secondary-level lesson designed to help teachers and students examine this issue and identify harassing behaviors. Includes six student handouts, instructional procedures, and suggested follow-up activities. (CFR)

Fifth- and sixth-grade students and teachers were interviewed about their perceptions of the general aspects of cooperative small group instruction. Students' and teachers' perceptions were found to be fairly well aligned; differences were found regarding emphasis given to curriculum, group, and individual accountability. (SM)

Urban elementary school teachers completed a checklist designed to determine a profile of the most significant factors that caused students to be at risk. Results indicated there were eight important factors: academic risk, behavior and coping skills, social withdrawal, family income, parenting, language development, retention, and attendance. (SM)

Reports on a study of the impact of a transformative curriculum in social studies among 96 11th-grade students in a New York City high school. Illustrates problems teachers face when they assume that students are making the intellectual connections expected of them. (CFR)

Describes one elementary teacher's experience when a minor event (a student forgetting to bring a permission slip and lunch for a field trip) resulted in a major class lesson in responsibility. Another teacher and a social worker present their perspectives on the situation and provide suggestions for teaching responsibility. (SM)

Three articles present suggestions to help elementary teachers promote student development. The first describes games that encourage a sense of community. The second deals with making parent teacher conferences a positive experience. The third discusses how to give confused children who are involved in custody battles an alternative to acting out.…

Maintains that, before developing a curriculum to teach critical thinking in the social studies, it is necessary to conceptualize what critical thinking is. Discusses three definitions of critical thinking along with three strategies for teaching critical thinking. (CFR)

Maintains that conflict and violence among students, and between students and educators, are problems in many schools. Discusses how the increasing cultural diversity at school can create conflict and violence. Encourages greater use of informal means of social control through relationship-building intervention. (CFR)

Surveys examined whether psychosocial factors (psychosocial distress, drug use, family stress, and school performance) would distinguish adolescents endorsing high suicide ideation from those who did not, focusing on potential school dropouts. High-risk students with suicide ideation had more psychosocial distress, drug involvement, family stress,…

Describes an assignment within a college course on thinking, reasoning, and decision-making skills. Discusses how students observe and describe the reasoning style of a partner on four different tasks. Maintains that the assignment illustrates course objectives on theories and models of reasoning in concrete ways. (CFR)

This study analyzed two student teachers whose contradictory beliefs about teaching went unrecognized and unresolved and subsequently affected their professional growth. The study used interviews, observations, and student teacher journals to examine the nature of learning experiences. Results suggest implications for program administrators,…

This study investigated risks for transitioning from nonsmoking to smoking during three transition periods as a function of gender, predisposing attributes, and participation in social influences education, examining four dispositional factors. Survey data indicated that dispositional factors were important determinants of smoking onset and that…

Four third-grade bilingual-program students were observed repeatedly as they engaged in group discussions of reading comprehension questions as part of a cooperative learning curriculum. Rather than being an exchange of ideas, the discussion activity mimicked teacher and student roles in the larger classroom, demonstrating influences of classroom…

Courageous, caring teachers in a supportive school can help restore the fractured social bonds of many adolescents. Traditional schools can be very unfriendly to adult-wary youths. The article discusses how to reclaim rebellious, alienated teens and build middle schools that are responsive to the unique needs of young adolescents. (SM)

Presents the National History Standards for United States History, grades 5 through 12. Includes an overview of 10 chronological time periods. Provides student objectives and recommended learning activities. (CFR)