Learning communities, freshman interest groups, or cluster classes are a relatively new trend on college and university campuses. In addition to improving freshman retention and performance, these courses create a bridge between the basic course and other courses. Learning communities are curricular structures that promote academic success by…

This study examined the long-term effects of youth exchange, specifically the degree to which former participants actually utilized results of the exchange after their return to their home country. The research focused on Germans and Americans who, as teenagers, experienced home stays in the other country between 1951 and 1987. Respondents were…

This study evaluated the effects of Integrative Gestalt Therapy on the intellectual aspects of social competence in 13 children, ages 7 to 11, living in Zagreb, Croatia. These children had intellectual disabilities (IQ 54 to 84) as well as psychological and/or behavior problems. Integrative Gestalt Therapy emphasizes the wholeness of a person's…

Compiled in 1994 by participating departments and the Student Outcomes Assessment Committee at Washington's Highline Community College, this booklet lists and explains expected student outcomes and abilities across the curriculum and within departments. The first section describes college-wide student outcomes in the following nine areas: thinking…

The inverse relation between academic motivation and substance use has been well established, but the direction of the influence remains to be specified; two possible influences are the mediating and moderating effects of family relationships and self-esteem. In this study, investigators used General Estimating Equation (GEE) models based on data…

This theme issue of a newsletter for academically talented youth focuses on getting the best precollege education. It encourages students to take responsibility for their own learning by becoming aware of all the options their school offers; making use of them; supplementing and enriching the basic school curriculum; and participating in…

This study examined the effect of student work experience on college outcomes, surveying 155 sophomores, juniors, and seniors at two higher education institutions: a small liberal arts college with a work-study emphasis and a large public university with a strong history of work-study programs. Data were collected using the College Student…

Five issues of the journal of the California Association for the Gifted comprise this document. The first issue focuses on the contributions of the late Jeanne Delp, a leading California educator. Articles by Delp include: "Who is Virgil T. Frey?,""How to Live Successfully with the Gifted Child,""Strangers among the…

This article offers four explanations of why outcome-based education (OBE) has proven to be so controversial. First, OBE requires consideration of the central purposes of compulsory public education, on which there is sharp philosophical disagreement, and the outcome-defining process involves input from many groups with many different…

This monograph explores the ways in which first-year college students can benefit from writing and offers concrete, practical suggestions for implementing writing in freshman seminar courses. Chapter 1, "Why Use Writing in a Freshman Seminar?" builds on the notion that writing is a process of discovery. Chapter 2, "Write it More Than Once: The…

This descriptive study used qualitative methods to examine academic and affective components in two primary level multi-aged classrooms at a special school for gifted children. The study methodology included classroom observation, a parent questionnaire, parent interviews, a student questionnaire, student interviews, and teacher interviews. The…

Being a teaching professional is a complex task within the social and organizational context in which teachers work. A model, "Variability of Developmental Needs within a Teaching/Learning Situation," provides a visual picture of the wide variety of students, typically in the broad but "average range" of knowledge,…

Three issues are addressed in this research review. First, do gifted and average children differ in their self-concepts? Second, what, if any, are the effects on self-concept of labeling a child as gifted or exceptional? Third, does placing the child in a separate enriched or accelerated classroom have any impact on self-concept? The paper begins…

This study examined faculty, student, and community perceptions of the purpose and value of a college education. A total of 536 undergraduates, 121 faculty, 211 members of the community of a metropolitan university completed a survey based on the ACT College Outcomes Survey that focused on educational outcomes and student growth. The results…

This digest suggests how outdoor education and experiential learning can develop in students a sense of community participation and set them on a path of strong participation and civic responsibility. Following definitions of outdoor education and experiential learning, various outdoor and experiential approaches are described. Adventure education…