Praises the rare teacher who respected his native culture when growing up. Deplores negative attitudes of some future second-language teachers toward Mexican-American culture. Colleges of education can nurture diversity by creating a multicultural environment. Courses should be rigorous and require students to incorporate multicultural concepts…

Argues that statistical literacy is a necessary component of a complete college education and important in combating growing innumeracy in American society, and describes a general education course at the University of Louisville (Kentucky) that includes it. Instruction focuses on societal issues, sometimes controversial, for which an…

Describes a high-school gender-studies course that used the structure of mythology and folk tradition as a basis for examining contemporary works of literature. Notes that the course provided students the opportunity to reflect on gender roles, on the lives of men and women in other cultures, and on students' own relationships within gender…

In order to assess the impact of changes made by Citizenship and Immigration Canada, adult citizenship-education programs were examined nationwide. Far fewer programs were available to immigrants to Canada than in 1987. Content scope in citizenship-education programs has remained essentially unchanged or been reduced, and is heavily influenced by…

Observes that slavery remains an uncomfortable subject and is generally perceived as strictly part of "black history." Argues that slavery must be seen as an American story that has strongly impacted the country's development. Reviews four books that provide insight into aspects of slavery and debates around it. (DSK)

Recommends that teachers combine multicultural education with an inquiry-based approach to social studies to help students critically examine society. Addresses the different obstacles when adopting this approach and offers an example of the inquiry method at work. Identifies 12 essential questions and controversial issues to use in classroom…

Explains that sentencing circles are a form of traditional Canada Native justice in which the entire community is involved to combat offenders. Provides a unit plan on sentencing circles for social studies in order to teach students about the need for sentencing circles in Native communities. Provides sample lesson plans and an example worksheet.…

Advocates using the first day of physics class to discuss some unique aspects of the discipline and the course. Lists examples of appropriate discussion topics. (WRM)

Describes the preparation and execution of a statistics course, an undergraduate econometrics course, and a microeconomic theory course that all utilize Internet technology. Reviews seven principles of teaching practice in order to demonstrate how to enhance the quality of student learning using Web technologies. Includes reactions by Steve Hurd…

Contends that the current syllabus for geography education in New Zealand is outdated and lacks relevance for students. Offers a case for syllabus revision and the reexamination of the geography discipline. Provides suggestions for the case of reform in relation to new syllabus content. (CMK)

Good science education depends on solid content and active learning. Effective teaching in all the physical sciences should have a similar focus on important concepts and effective learning experiences. Students of all ages benefit from experiential learning. Inquiry, which combines hands-on and minds-on learning, engages students in a process…

Reports on a study of the views of teachers and staff on the introduction of individual investigative work into the precollege, advanced-level chemistry courses in Great Britain. Contains 21 references. (DDR)

Asks to what degree should social studies preservice teachers be prepared to deal with academic freedom issues? Argues that preparing students for citizenship can involve teachers in controversial issues and challenges to curriculum content. Reports that methods professors agreed that preservice teachers should be required to investigate academic…

Examines the between-teacher differences in students' mathematics progress in two studies in London (England), one involving 776 Year 1 students and the other involving 22 schools and 28 teachers. The more of the mathematics curriculum teachers covered, the greater the progress made by students. (SLD)

Discusses criteria for selecting course-development software for multimedia distance-learning projects, particularly for business training. Course creation (including test generation), content delivery (including links to other applications, client software, and collaboration and communication capabilities), and administration and management…