A study of 16 language-teacher trainees found distinct differences between perceived and actual language proficiency. During the foreign-language-teaching methodology course, candidates developed greater realism about their own abilities and need for further language development. The investigation illustrates how motivations change over time for…

Describes the creation and implementation of voluntary standards and benchmarks for the teaching and learning of economics at the precollege level. The standards, established by the National Council on Economic Education in 1997, outline fundamental economic concepts to be taught at each grade level. Includes copies of the standards. (MJP)

Examines changes in student assessment methods in courses and clerkships at eight medical schools participating in a large-scale medical curriculum development project, including specific forms of assessment (self-assessment, feedback, standardized patients). For most schools, changes were controlled by course or clerkship directors and managed by…

Describes the development of a model Web-based distance-learning graduate course in Engineering Management at Drexel University (Pennsylvania). Highlights include a new pedagogical model; vendor selection; knowledge engineering; time commitment; development management; copyright issues; and costs. (LRW)

Discusses picture books as resources for middle and upper grade classrooms. Topics include the value of picture books for ESL students; interactivity; brevity; young adult content; writing style; visual art; picture books in school libraries; and suggestions for using them in social studies, language arts, reading, art, and math and science. (LRW)

Presents findings from a three-year evaluative study, plus a follow-up study four years later, into the implementation of a student-owned portable computer program in a secondary school in Perth, Western Australia. Discusses computer use, student computer attitudes, teacher attitudes, the role of teachers in curriculum integration, and…

Assessments were made of fourth grade students' attitudes toward computers, their computer vocabulary, and their estimates of classroom access at the end of the academic year 2000. Findings indicate that teachers need sustained hands-on guidance in learning to design and schedule classroom computer activities that both relate to the curriculum and…

Provides six fully developed library media activities that are designed for use with specific curriculum units in reading, language arts, science, and social studies. Library media skills, curriculum objectives, grade levels, resources, instructional roles, procedures, evaluation, and follow-up are described for each activity. (LRW)

Explains how media specialists can play an active role in providing staff development that helps teachers use technology to teach in a changing learning environment and integrate technology in the curriculum. Highlights include key research about staff development, the changing role of the media specialist, and examples of successful staff…

Preparation for rural medical practice is adequate in the areas of clinical knowledge and procedural skills, but to increase the retention of rural physicians, more curricular emphasis is needed in the areas of sensitivity to rural social issues, counseling, networking, and fostering self-confidence to function effectively in an environment with…

The technological infrastructure at New Hampshire's Brewster Academy has affected policy building, teaching methods, staff development, and administrator role. The five-year phased implementation of a school design model based on universal connectivity and curricular embedding is discussed, with emphasis on network architecture, financial…

Initiatives taken at University of Michigan to address complex nature of diversity and multiculturalism in higher education are described, including a 1988 administrative strategic plan to link academic excellence and social diversity among faculty and students, a plan to improve women's representation among faculty, a longitudinal study of impact…

This article discusses problems with traditional top-down methods of disseminating educational innovations to teachers and proposes a conceptual framework in which teachers share a primary role with educational researchers in the development of innovative practices. Focus is on the critical dimensions of teacher change as they participate in the…

Argues that the arts improve academic achievement and provide an emotional outlet which the Montessori classroom should work to integrate across the curriculum. Provides a case study of change toward a better art orientation, and discusses integrating art class with regular classroom work, and searching for and hiring a specialist in the field.…

Presents a curriculum profile of arts education in Australia. The curriculum includes generic outcome statements organized around interrelated approaches. These include creating, making, and presenting, as well as arts criticism and aesthetics, and past and present contexts. The outcome statements range across eight levels of achievement. (MJP)