The Way Station notion that is of most interest to high school and college counselors is the one which conveys the notion of a pause in one's educational progress. The author presents some thoughts on time spent away from formal education, examining this phenomenon and its essential features. (Author)

Discusses the importance of recognizing patterns in nature to help understand the interactions of living and non-living things. Cautions the student not to lose sight of the details when studying the big picture. Encourages development of the ability to identify local species. Suggest two activities to strengthen observation skills and to help in…

Describes a preservice program to prepare teachers for a curriculum based on the realistic approach. The program appeared successful in changing student teachers' views of mathematics education towards this more inquiry-oriented approach and in promoting effective teacher behavior in classrooms. Only a small number of teachers recognized the…

Defines and describes phenomenography as a research methodology, and argues for its utility in examining aspects of higher education. Reviews research in higher education using the phenomenographic approach, outlines cautions in using it, and discusses alternative explanations offered in the debate over phenomenography. Previews a series of…

Considers the role of evolution and natural selection in the functioning of the modern human brain. Natural selection equipped humans with a mental toolbox of intuitive theories about the world which were used to master rocks, tools, plants, animals, and one another. The same toolbox is used today to master the intellectual challenges of modern…

Examines why and how one elementary teacher--a veteran third-grade teacher in Arizona--uses drama in the classroom. Discusses how the teacher uses drama as a means for personal and professional growth, focuses on students achieving an understanding of self and others, and defines the drama curriculum as an "expressive orientation" within…

Focuses on the evolution of research traditions dedicated to the empirical study of computer-assisted language learning (CALL) use for teaching English as a Second Language. (99 references) (CK)

Claims that role play has a crucial role in early childhood education. Discusses the essence of play, child development, and the concept of frame play, whereby children and teachers plan and play together. Provides two examples of frame play and discusses their educational implications. (MOK)

Discusses motivational processes as they apply to educational contexts. Defines motivation and compares it to other constructs. Provides a brief history of motivation theory and reviews important trends and areas in motivation research. Suggests four areas that future research might address: constructivism and learning, long-term motivation,…

Explores the nature and extent of perceived challenge in learning and teaching science. Teachers (n=7) and students (n=37) in 5 secondary schools were the subjects of this study. Findings suggest that many students are insufficiently challenged by the science they learn in school and many teachers are insufficiently challenged by the task of…

Describes research on brain development and its relationship to music education. Discusses how music helps some people organize the way they think and work and how music helps them develop in other areas, including mathematics, language, and spatial reasoning. (10 references) (LMI)

Two experiments on children's inferences and associative memory provided a supportive test of fuzzy-trace theory. Results indicated that false recognition of associated instances with delay declined for all children, and categorical inferences increased for older children. Verbatim memory and inferences were uncorrelated under short delay but…

Analyzes the relative advantages of using text versus voice to convey verbal information in multimedia courseware and reports results of a study of undergraduates that investigated the effects of presentation method on learning and student preferences. Topics include realism, dual modality, controllability, content characteristics, learner…

Discusses the consensus among language teachers that the teaching of grammar helps second language learners develop linguistic competence as part of communicative competence. The article argues that pedagogical grammar can be made less formal by keeping metalinguistic terms, concepts, and analysis at a minimal level. (45 references) (Author/CK)