Discusses the benefits for students and communities of service-learning experiences. Briefly describes student efforts to formulate and solve community problems as part of the Expeditionary Learning project (Massachusetts), which calls on adults and students to embark on experiential learning "expeditions" to renew themselves as…

Changes in preservice teachers' level of reflective thinking over a three-quarter period were explored by analyzing their journal entries on readings and field experiences. Even without specific reflection training, levels of reflection increased significantly due to simply asking preservice teachers to reflect. However, only one participant…

Argues for adopting the concept of colleges and universities as "total institutions," noting the importance of such characteristics as isolation, activities, location, unity of focused goals, and opportunities for student development. Implications of these considerations and characteristics for student recruitment, admissions, student orientation,…

Explores what creative drama is, why it should be included in the teaching of both expository and creative writing, and how language arts teachers can implement creative drama activities to increase student success in writing and to improve learning. Describes how using creative drama to enhance creative writing restores authority to students for…

Describes a five-week group counseling program designed to help students adopt behaviors that can lead to greater academic success. Phases of the program are (1) institution and professor bashing; (2) member confrontation and accepting responsibility; (3) implementation of success strategies; (4) future pacing. Discusses results and implications.…

In experiential education, the ABCs of participant experience are agency (allowing students to become more powerful change agents in their lives); belonging (sharing a sense of community); and competence (developing students' cognitive, physical, and social competence). A research review discusses these and other components in a conceptual…

Primary and secondary schooling experiences of 21 adults (seven each from Denmark, Germany, and United Kingdom) showed positive views of primary and postcompulsory education but reservations about their progress in early secondary schooling. Results were attributed less to adolescent development factors than to management of the transition from…

The transformation of education for nation building, currently underway in South Africa, represents a political program driven by utility. Education should be concerned primarily with the self-empowerment of an individual person and, as such, not be sacrificed to demands of utility, which serves the narrow interests of the state and the economy.…

Extends previous research, which investigated relationships between female students' perceptions of a "chilly campus climate" and cognitive outcomes in the first year of college, by examining those relationships through the junior year. Results, implications, and limitations of the study are discussed. (Author/GCP)

Discusses three classes of nonacademic outcomes to foster in students: (1) social, ethical, and civic dispositions; (2) attitudes toward school and learning motivation; and (3) metacognitive skills. Provides guidance about how to accomplish these goals. Suggests that this broader school reform agenda will promote dispositions needed to sustain a…

Considers how to provide a supportive, secure environment to children of divorce through opportunities to exercise personal control, being tolerant of variable academic performance, and expressing faith in children's character and capacity for growth. Provides suggestions for creating safe channels for communication and teaching children coping…

College student employment programs result in positive learning outcomes. The Leap to Excellence Acceleration Program (LEAP) was designed to provide students with useful training from student employment and to provide employers with a program focused on developing skilled, informed, productive citizens. Development and evaluation of the program is…

While research has a great deal to tell educators about how college students learn, the educational community is becoming dependent on research and ignoring what can be learned from the principles of good practice in the classroom. Research should be the beginning, not the conclusion, of the investigation into student learning processes. (MSE)

Required summer reading for incoming college freshmen commonly has themes of self-discovery, travel, and learning about other cultures that help students prepare for college life and challenge their belief systems. Some colleges follow up the readings with special discussion programs. (MSE)

Reports on the efficacy of a module designed to develop students' critical thinking skills in the context of peer evaluation in a second-year supervisory management unit at an Australian university. Students (n=68) evaluated oral literature reviews of fellow students using a detailed grading guide. Results indicate critical-thinking instruction…