Focuses on an ICP (Inter-University Cooperation Programme) OnLine in the area of Informatics/Artificial Intelligence. Notes that ICP is accessed through the World Wide Web and was launched in the Summer of 1994 to provide "virtual mobility." Discusses the program's objectives, student experiences, and the risks and opportunities afforded by…

Describes a teacher's unsuccessful attempt to introduce the poetry of Tu Fu, a wayward bureaucrat of the T'ang dynasty, to a class of part-time students. Uses his students' resistance to this poetry as an occasion to discuss the importance of personal responses to poetry, as opposed to "correct" academic responses. (TB)

High school students are not immediately attracted to poetry because they have never had to listen so carefully, especially to controlled and polished poems. In its report on "Freedom and Discipline in English," the College Board's Commission on English minimizes the value of the poem as art. (MSE)

There is no justification for using corporal punishment in schools. Educators are responsible for turning a child's misbehavior into an opportunity to teach character and self-control. When self-disciplined adults create a problem, they apologize, accept the consequences, make restitution, and learn from their mistakes. Children must be taught to…

Examines the effects of a year-long program for using poetry daily in a second-grade classroom. Finds minor evidence of growth in students' concepts and attitudes about poetry (based on an objective survey instrument) but positive and lasting effects on children's attitudes (based on classroom observation of behavior). (RS)

Describes a study of listener reactions toward the oral language of nonnative English speakers. The potential for discreditation of such speakers by the listener and the need to emphasize oral language in the classroom are discussed. (19 references) (GLR)

Offers ways to teach students to understand and appreciate stories not just for their plots but for their stylistic features. Suggests that teachers demonstrate alternatives by rewriting passages in ways different from those chosen by the author, and asking students to describe the differences. Includes classroom examples. (PRA)

Describes how one writing teacher used the concept of the writer's commonplace book to encourage students to respond in writing to current cultural and news events. Shows how to set up separate files on computer networks containing reflections on news events, and argues that such a method is effective at inspiring writing. (HB)

Relates the viewpoints of child readers with respect to authors, narrators, illustrations,and text. Asserts that children can grasp the concept of author well before age five and that, for the child, the author "lives." (PRA)

Discusses the value of collaborative study and describes five undergraduate courses that supported collaborative study practices, four of which used a computer-based conferencing system and one that was paper-based. Highlights include student responses, assessment practices, and tutors' participation style. (LRW)

Finds the presentation assignment to be an effective method of providing students with the opportunity to apply the literacy skills they are learning in ways that are personally meaningful. Describes the presentation assignment framework and provides an example of an assignment that required students to analyze and interpret works of literature…

Examines the effect of group size in problem-based learning on the problem-solving skill, self-directedness, and technical knowledge of 72 students in a dental education program. Discusses results of pretests and posttests, students' reactions, and implications for instructional design. (Contains 34 references.) (Author/LRW)

Reflects on teaching Shakespeare in secondary school. Finds it is possible to see in a set of classroom practices an alternative model of reading, a notion of collaborative, negotiated making of meaning. Gives student responses as to why they would be studying Shakespeare. Reflects on their comments. (PA)

Reports on the construction and application of an innovative technique, the School Apperception Story Procedure (SASP). In this task, children select three school-thematic pictures and tell how these show ideal and worst types of school. Evaluates the SASP with data collected from a study of perceptions of school among children with and without…

Encourages students to slow down and to reflect upon what they had read. Focuses on the visual arts, particularly for their capacity to help move students from the concrete to the abstract. Notes that Lowry's (1993) novel "The Giver" particularly lent itself to this approach because its powerful visual imagery encourages readers to return to and…