Three women undertook a four-day winter camping trip in the Adirondacks as their practicum in an outdoor and experiential-education course. Their description of the confidence gained and the balance between self-doubt and overconfidence is compared to walking in snowshoes. (TD)

Explores the interaction among self-regulatory (cognitive strategy use, self-regulation) and motivational (intrinsic value, anxiety/confidence) components of learning with the quantity/content of a musician's instrumental practice. The sample consisted of 190 pianists. Indicates that the level of cognitive engagement during practice may provide…

Describes a thematic unit for secondary education students that focuses on eight themes, with accompanying activities, on learning from mistakes, such as "mistakes are inevitable, and everyone makes them" and "making mistakes does not make you a faulty person." Provides a concluding activity on the Titanic. (CMK)

Describes a group activity that uses a tree as a metaphor to reflect both group and personal growth during adventure activities. The tree's roots represent the group's formation, the branches and leaves represent the group's diversity and capabilities, and the seeds represent the personal learning and growth that took place within the group.…

Outlines research undertaken with first year primary preservice teachers at Goldsmiths College, University of London, UK. Studies the influence of preservice teachers' prior educational experience and beliefs about the nature of--and relationship between--science and technology upon their planning for classroom activities incorporating both areas…

Discusses a letter exchange exercise for teaching statistics and research methods. Each student writes a letter to a peer in another course section on a topic in statistics or research methods, writes a response letter, and writes another letter clarifying their ideas. (CMK)

Describes an exercise in which students were presented with audiovisual stimuli intended to induce varying levels of psychological arousal and automatic activation. Explains that the purpose of the exercise was to demonstrate the integral connection between psychological interpretation and reaction to stimuli and physiological response. Presents…

Presents a framework developed for the Library of Congress staff of the Social Science Education Consortium for using primary sources with students. Offers a brief rationale for using primary sources in the classroom, gives suggestions for using such sources in various phases of instruction, and provides a list of Web sites containing primary…

Discusses the effectiveness of the cooperative/mastery learning method on primary-grade students' acquisition of economic concepts. Provides a sample lesson that shows how cooperative and mastery methods can be combined and used in conjunction with real-life learning experiences when teaching social studies. Offers an economic fable to introduce…

Author describes four significant themes that highlight adult students' descriptions of how they experience learning on campus. Three themes address the negative side of the experience (sense of impostorship, exclusion from the cultures that have previously defined them, and notion that college will turn their life around). The hopeful theme that…

Presents the activity of building a cotton-ball catapult collaboratively. Uses available spare parts and stimulates students to use their knowledge, skills, and past experiences. (YDS)

Recommends that band directors utilize nontraditional performance literature, or what is often called "contemporary" or "twentieth-century" music. Discusses such issues as the educational benefits involved, what students will learn, and questions to consider when selecting a piece. Provides a selected repertoire of band works with contemporary…

Discusses a way to enhance the teaching of critical social analyses with explicit attention to experiential and somatic learning modalities. Indicates main learning objectives adapted from a course called "Power, Conflict, and Change in Social Interaction: What's a Body to Do?" Concludes with discussion of several exercises. (CMK)

Discusses the need to study the social interactive dimension of learning, attempting to formulate a definition of togetherness on a theoretical basis. Explores processes in early childhood that relate to understanding how children learn to maintain togetherness in their group activities, and how a strategy for togetherness may prepare children for…

In this article, an eighth grader talks about his experiences at school and shares his views about middle-school education. This 13-year-old does not know what exactly started the war, but what he knows is that the school kids of America aren't learning much that is new--and they don't know what to believe. He knows that somewhere out there, the…