Describes an inquiry-based project on kinematics piloted at a rural middle school in 1996 by a Maine collaboration of university faculty, graduate students, and K-12 teachers. The group examines the new science standards, develops new curricula based on physics education research, helps middle-school teachers implement that curricula, and assesses…

Eight students taking English as a Second Language in a Puerto Rican university kept dialog journals in which they discussed English as a symbol of U.S. colonial domination of Puerto Rico and the erosion of Puerto Rican cultural identity, the relative importance of English and Spanish, and contradictions related to U.S. citizenship and the need…

Reviews a series of teaching activities that revolve around family photographs, letters, and artifacts. Outlines how these items can be used to teach recommended National Council for the Social Studies strands and provides classroom examples. Discusses developing a unit of study and includes a form for a Family Artifact Report. (MJP)

Case study reports on the use of language experience and a natural approach to learning languages in a dual-language (Spanish-English) kindergarten class. Descriptions of student writing activities in the classroom illustrate the process of literacy development in the first and second languages. The importance of trained bilingual teachers and…

Investigated the relationship between cultural background of Arab students in Canada and Israel and reading comprehension of majority and minority group stories. Findings indicate that, in terms of language education, it is essential to develop pedagogies that respond to the diversity of the social contexts in which the learners are situated. (70…

Investigated the effects of cooperative instruction, individual instruction, and learner control of instructional elements (practice items, summary material, review material) on 128 undergraduate students' test performance, attitudes, option use, and student interactions and found that posttest performance was not influenced by either learner…

Discusses the results of a study that examined the perceptions of elementary and secondary school teachers and of educational technology faculty and graduate students about five topic areas related to educational technology: instructional design, cooperative learning, learner control, school reform, and computers and media. (Author/LRW)

The Standards for Teachers of Science address the preparation, provisional practice, continued practice, and support that teachers will need to ensure that students are prepared for life and to be lifelong learners. The background of educational reform, vision behind the Standards, goals for science teachers, and suggestions for sustaining…

Presents four articles that examine the role of art experiences in early childhood education: "Educationally Appropriate Art Activities for Young Children," by Bernard Spodek; "Teachers and Children Together: Constructing New Learning," by Lella Gandini; "Fostering Experiences between Young Children and Clay," by Cathy Weisman Topal; and…

Describes the rise of the opportunity-to-learn movement and criticizes how the movement's standards have been conceptualized to date. Argues that these standards disregard the in-school factors--curricular and instructional differentiation and racial and class segregation--and the extra-school factors--home environments and educational…

Reviews current practice in the study of phonological interlanguage. The methodology of 22 pieces of research is surveyed in terms of subjects, range of phonological features, "synchronic" and "diachronic" approaches, techniques and materials, audio-recording and transcription. The article discusses the advantages and…

English-as-a-Second-Language students in Japan were tested at the beginning and the end of the school year to examine changes in word associations and grammatical suffix knowledge. Results showed an average vocabulary gain of 330 words, a poor knowledge of the allowable suffixes for the verbs learned, and 19 to 25 percentage points more receptive…

Argues that from the perspective of second language learning, college teachers should focus on an integrated undergraduate curriculum combining the teaching of linguistics and literature with language learning in an instructional approach informed by second language acquisition research. Emphasizes that multiple benefits are derived from a…

This article examines what students report learning and how they received instruction over an eight-month period. Results indicated that students of teachers in the graduate program recalled more specific health content and participated in more interactive activities than did control teachers' students. (SM)

An approach has been developed at the US Military Academy (New York) to supplement computer-assisted instruction for weaker students. Four components include computerized grading and feedback on nightly assignments, in-class group exercises that are quickly graded, an adaptive hypermedia interface to the hypermedia course based on individual…