Discusses four models of staff development for cooperative learning in mathematics: graduate seminar with weekly meetings; workshop enhanced by support systems and followup; school-based staff development with monthly meetings; and projects involving collaboration between university and school district personnel. The article lists 10 important…

Describes research that advocates flexible grouping patterns, based upon student needs, to increase instructional effectiveness and student achievement. Appropriate grouping in the classroom and in elementary school library resource centers is stressed, and benefits of cooperative learning as compared to competitive learning and individual…

Discusses the importance of instruction in metacognition, the mental process of observing, evaluating, and making adjustments in one's own thinking behavior to enhance comprehension during a learning activity. Reviews educational programs which have taught metacognitive behaviors and charts a model instructional approach for use in the college…

Thirty-seven elementary and secondary school teachers were surveyed about their knowledge of task-specific study strategies, and 10 were interviewed to validate and extend the survey data. Teachers seldom reported providing students with metacognitive components of strategy instruction. Implications for teacher instruction in study strategies are…

Reports on a approach to teaching the sociology of acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) by combining coursework with weekly volunteer work in an AIDS agency. Concludes with a discussion of the benefits of experiential learning and five guidelines for establishing similar community service programs. (CFR)

This article offers the Integrated Strategies Instruction Model as a method for teaching content-area lessons to students with mild disabilities, using a variety of graphic organizers. The model lends itself to both teacher-directed and student-directed learning activities. (DB)

Asserts that social studies teachers generally agree that critical thinking and cooperative learning skills are two primary instructional goals. Describes a class activity utilizing roleplaying and the cooperative "jigsaw" approach to study the U.S. Constitution. (CFR)

Presents an overview of the 1994 National History Day project and its theme, "Geography in History: People, Places, Time." Includes a list of suggested History Day topics linked to broad historical themes. Provides a 17-item bibliography of resources for students working on History Day projects. (CFR)

Describes the use of a computer simulation, "The Competitive Edge," in a college-level course in labor relations. Describes the content, implementation procedures, and assessment design of the simulation. Concludes that, although some improvements could be made, the program is a valuable and useful simulation of labor market decision…

Asserts that economics education is a desirable goal for the elementary curriculum because elementary students can learn and understand economic concepts. Reviews four "Teaching-Learning Principles" based on empirical research about learning effectiveness. Applies these principles to economic concepts such as scarcity, cost-benefit analysis, and…

Asserts that using a thematic approach to teach pre-twentieth-century U.S. history can help students connect historical events in a coherent pattern. Discusses the development of a history curriculum based on five recurring themes in U.S. history. Provides an outline for a nine-week unit that includes suggested student activities for each theme.…

Reports on a review of multicultural content of the "Music Educators Journal" in the years 1967-1992. Finds that the number of articles, special issues, and book reviews on multicultural music education increased significantly during the 1970s. Asserts that heightened interest in instructional methods and teacher education followed in…

A dynamic measure (number of examples needed to reach mastery) predicted transfer but not maintenance of a learned strategy for 64 third graders trained by scaffolded (n=32) or nonscaffolded (n=32) methods. A static measure had some predictive utility in the nonscaffolded condition. The potential superiority of scaffolded instruction is discussed.…

Asserts that in order for simulations to work well they need to operate within the constraints of a pre-designed set of rules. The simulation needs to incorporate an articulation of these rules, the simulation activity, and a thorough debriefing. Includes a set of questions and activities designed to facilitate debriefing. (MJP)

Understanding the link between classroom assessment techniques (CATs) and cognitive learning theory not only allows college teachers to choose and design CATs that fit particular classroom needs, but helps them explicate to students the potential applications of CATs to study strategies in general. Once students make this leap, the effects of a…