Describes exercises in which tabs from aluminum beverage cans are used to introduce principles of classification, biostratigraphy, and evolution. Provides diagrams which represent dorsal and ventral views of species and a table which graphs units of time in relation to species duration. (RT)

Described is a laboratory study designed to demonstrate loss of vegetation, alterations in the species composition of a community, and the impoverishment of a community with respect to desirable food plant species when herbivore feeding exceeds the rate of vegetation regrowth. The laboratory uses a classroom aquarium. (CW)

Discusses procedures for teaching basic soil morphological concepts using soil cores collected along a toposequence. Describes materials and methods for collecting, laboratory use of cores, and student evaluation results. Shows a table of criteria used to describe soils for profile descriptions. (RT)

Access to postsecondary science education for students with disabilities was examined. A comparison of recruiting materials from further colleges, polytechnics, and universities indicated that institutions of higher education provided more positive information. A survey of 26 science departments revealed that there is little staff training or…

Explores a way of analyzing laboratory activities that can help middle and high school science teachers to match their instructional goals with one of three appropriate types of activities: confirmation, generalization, or resolution. Examples and guiding principles for each kind of activity are given. (Contains 23 references.) (MDH)

Two experiments investigated whether preschoolers attend to appearance instead of taxonomic relations in sorting sets of objects with conflicting appearances and taxonomic relations. Found that training and instructions have a significant effect on children's preference for sorting according to taxonomic relations or appearance, and that both…

Uses Michele Le Doeuff's theories about reverie, reflection, and migrant rationality to rethink the crossroads in the writing center between individual desires and disciplinary ideals. Examines the situations of four graduate students who find themselves contained or restricted by the limitations of discourse in their disciplines. Discusses how…

Describes a variety of possible uses of computers in second- language instruction that go beyond traditional drill-and-practice programs. (Author/JL)

Describes video distribution systems as a way of giving control of all monitors in a classroom to the teacher. Examples of their use are given, including distribution in language labs and distribution from a media lab to classrooms throughout a school building; and information about five vendors is included. (LRW)

Describes the Virtual Reality and Education Lab (VREL) established at East Carolina University to study the implications of virtual reality for elementary and secondary education. Highlights include virtual reality software evaluation; hardware evaluation; computer-based curriculum objectives which could use virtual reality; and keeping current…

Presents pendulum lab results as an example for students on the write-up of experiments. (PR)

Emphasizes the importance of paying attention to how writers feel about their writing as well as what they think about it. States that textbooks deal with writers' feelings incidentally. Defines "flow" as being the opposite of writer's block. Defines "liking" and its implications for a writer's work-in-progress. Asks whether…

Includes "Managing Personality Types in the Computer Classroom" (Cocco); "External I/O Input/Output with a PC" (Fryda); "The Future of CAD/CAM Computer-Assisted Design/Computer-Assisted Manufacturing Software" (Fulton); and "Teaching Quality Assurance--A Laboratory Approach" (Wojslaw). (SK)

This photosynthesis exercise is intended for introductory college biology or botany courses. It is based on the principle that a closed suspension of algal cells may be expected to produce more dissolved oxygen with a greater photon fluence rate, but within limits of the photosynthetic capacity of the system. Describes materials and methods. (LZ)

Describes safety hazards encountered when placing squash balls into liquid nitrogen. Suggests using racquet balls, balloons, or economical Ping-Pong balls. (MVL)