This manual contains a collection of approaches and activities for nature specialists at residential or day camps. It is organized so that the novice may use it to maximize the effectiveness of a camp program. The book is full of descriptions of various field experiments in which children can participate. Comments in section 1, "Getting Started,"…

Acknowledging a recent increased interest in research about self-directed learning, this report analyzes and discusses two different forms of education: self-directed learning and distance education. Here, self-directed learning is identical with autodidactic learning, a form of education that cannot be included in organized adult education; the…

Quantitative data and descriptive data (written self-evaluation and journal entries) were collected from young adults participating in a standard 26-day Outward Bound course during a quasi-experimental control group design experiment to determine the degree to which participation in a high risk wilderness program leads to self-discovery,…

Using the Component Display Theory as an analyzing tool, this study compared the effects of expository and discovery methods of instruction on two learning outcomes, application and transfer. One hundred ninth grade students in each of four earth science classes were randomly assigned to five groups--four experimental groups designed to test four…

The document has three major components: (1) rationale; (2) content; and (3) activities. The rationale, which deals with considerations and methods for teaching mathematics concepts to young children, is provided through the following articles: (1) "Piagetian Implications for Kindergarten Mathematics Instruction"; (2) "A Rationale…

This study attempted to determine if students learn science concepts better when laboratories are used to verify concepts already intorduced through lectures and textbooks (verification laboratories or whether achievement and retention are improved when laboratories are used to introduce new concepts (directed discovery learning laboratories). The…

This study investigates the pattern of teacher questioning regarding three elements: sequence, student respondent, and cognitive process. The rationale for this type of teaching rests on the claims for teaching students the process of critical (reflective) thinking. In this type of teaching it is necessary to have data before the students. Only…

This document includes special references to British open classrooms. (MK)

A major goal of mathematics teaching is the involvement of students in the personal process of discovering mathematical ideas and formulating problems. The process of an inductive leap followed by a deductive argument is used in mathematics courses at Phillips Exeter Academy (New Hampshire). Mathematical problems are presented in which the givens…

These worksheets suggest activities through which secondary school students may be introduced to the ideas of simulation. All can be played as games to give students a feel for the situation modeled; most use coins or dice and a few use random digits. Directions are detailed for each of the 17 worksheets, with variations suggested for many. (MMS)

The achievement of bilingualism appears to have positive consequences for the bilingual child, enhancing universal aspects of cognitive functioning available to all normal children. However, little is yet known about the interaction between educational treatment and the input factors the bilingual child brings to the situation. Focusing on the…

Students' preconceptions (also called misconceptions) interfere with desired learning and resist attempts to eradicate them. By applying previous findings about misconceptions regarding the particle model for gases, a new approach was designed for teaching the subject. A "critical situation" was treated in which students in sixth and…

This presentation discusses research on the effects of adult- and self-instruction on the performance of a picture grouping task by black children in primary and elementary school. Kindergarten children and first-, fifth- and sixth-grade students were shown pictures that could be divided into four sets. Within each set the pictures were similar in…

THIS VOLUME IS DIVIDED INTO FIVE MAJOR SECTIONS. IN THE FIRST SECTION, HAWKINS STATES THAT THERE ARE CERTAIN THINGS WHICH CAN ONLY BE LEARNED BY DISCOVERY. GLASER IMPLIES THAT WHEN AN OBJECT IS DESCRIBED IN BEHAVIORAL TERMS, THE BEHAVIOR IS TEACHABLE. IN THE SECOND SECTION, WITTROCK REVIEWS THE LITERATURE OF RESEARCH. CRONBACH PRESENTS A CRITICAL…

AS OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE LEARNING PROCESS AND OF THE NATURE AND FUNCTION OF SPOKEN AND WRITTEN AMERICAN-ENGLISH INCREASES, SPELLING INSTRUCTION IN THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS IS UNDERGOING A DRASTIC CHANGE. RECENT RESEARCH HAS REVEALED A BASIC LOGIC BEHIND THE SOUND-TO-LETTER RELATIONSHIP HITHERTO THOUGHT TO BE HAPHAZARD. BASED ON THE PREMISE THAT…