The "modern school" is sensitive to change, aggressive in its employment of instructional technology, yet totally responsive to and concerned about the individual. Student-centered learning can flourish through use of a systems approach, which can also move media and materials from their present peripheral role in education to an integral position…

This grade 7-8 level course guide covers aspects of media communication such as verbal and nonverbal communication theory, forms of modern media (newspapers, feature films, artistic films, music, advertising, etc.), and practice for the student in the various aspects of communication media. The guide is designed for a one-year course and enhances…

An analysis of definitions of multicultural education shows a patterning around three basic descriptors: (1) affective--e.g., awareness, sensitizing; (2) cognition--basic information on cultures; and (3) competencies/skills--social skills and behavioral competencies necessary to function in a pluralistic society. ERIC multicultural documents are…

In a French course offered in a German university, students were required to develop, structure, write, rehearse, and present brief plays as a group language-learning activity. (MSE)

Examines how teachers from Nigerian secondary schools and teacher training colleges select instructional materials. Results of questionnaires and interviews from 89 teachers are analyzed, influences on teachers when selecting materials are described, and implications for instructional design are discussed. (22 references) (LRW)

Argues that effective use of the print media in French instruction requires considerable preparation and participation on the teacher's part. A variety of exercises for thematic and lexical awareness, comprehension, guided production, autonomous production, simulation, grammar development, and other objectives are suggested. (MSE)

In Australia, schools may choose to spend their annual allocation for mathematics and social studies materials on commercially produced materials or materials produced by the Education Department. This study examined Australian teachers' preferences regarding curriculum materials, the procedures they used to select materials, and how they used the…

Intended to provide a framework and impetus for future investigations of video games, this paper summarizes activities investigating the instructional use of such games, observations by the authors, and a proposed classification scheme and a paradigm to assist in the preliminary selection of instructional video games. Nine references are listed.…

Examination of textbooks for teaching English as a foreign language (EFL) reveals a hidden agenda in many: globalization of a Western-styled consumer culture. Despite attempts to make textbooks more culturally inclusive, they still reflect ethnocentrism and conformity. Both sexism and heterocentrism are overt. Concurrently, among native English…

Today, as the needs of libraries change and librarians face shrinking budgets, selecting the best periodicals from over 147,000 possibilities becomes ever more difficult. This guide simplifies the task by offering the guidance of 150 experts who have screened and evaluated the universe of periodicals to produce this annotated list of approximately…

Ideas and activities for using authentic materials in the English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) classroom are collected here. Each activity centers on an audio, visual, or written text from an English language environment, including samples from many different genres: television, radio, and video; newspapers, magazines, and literature; maps, mail,…

Seven articles in this issue focus on the use of realia in instruction. Authors discuss reasons why realia effectively motivate students and enhance learning; the place of realia in supervised occupational experience programs; the importance of real-life experiences to vocational agriculture; and student teaching as a reality experience. (SK)

Describes an interdisciplinary college course on the Plains Indians, team-taught by history and literature professors. Outlines issues related to team teaching, organization of course content and selection of print and video instructional materials, classroom practice, and lessons learned. A course outline and exam essay questions are appended.…

Divides musical composition selection for student orchestras into two categories, teaching repertoire and concert repertoire. Provides a number of helpful hints and criteria for selecting both. Includes "Ten Terrific Titles,""Super String Selections," a list of premiere selections for grades two through six, and a list of selected resources. (MJP)

The Boehringer Mannheim Library (Germany) switched its loose-leaf pharmacopoeias from printed versions to electronic media. Discusses the decision-making and implementation process, and considers costs, technical requirements, availability of databases, user acceptance, installation, maintenance, and skills needed. Found that electronic media…