Discusses the long running debate on teaching evolution in public schools. Recommends using the 5E teaching cycle of engage, explore, explain, elaborate, and evaluate to show that scientific concepts and theories can be fundamental. (Contains 20 references.) (YDS)

Analyzes three widely-held conceptions of critical thinking: as one or more skills, as mental processes, and as sets of procedures. Considers each a misconception and offers alternative proposals for teaching critical thinking. (CMK)

Teacher involvement in decisions may detract from teaching. This article presents three case studies (concerning a teacher-owned program, teacher involvement in selecting a new principal, and an autocratic principal's failed experiment with participation) that examine pitfalls. Sunset clauses, a good centralization/empowerment balance, and an…

Delineates the myths, mysteries, and distortions surrounding rites of passage for African American youth and investigates the educational implications of these rites. The initiation process is examined, and the importance of carefully resurrecting these rites of passage to the socialization of African American youth is discussed. (GR)

The teacher as a "sage on the stage" is being eclipsed by the learning facilitator, or "guide on the side." While there is room for constructivist methodologies, the rage against expertise and repetitive or rote learning practices is misguided. Students deserve a chance to learn from real experts. (MLH)

Focuses on learning difficulties in procedural knowledge, and assesses the procedural difficulties of grade 12 and first- and third-year university students based on common sense reasoning in two areas of chemistry--chemical equilibrium and geometry, and polarity of molecules. (Contains 55 references.) (Author/YDS)

Examines the paradigm debate over established (behavioral and cognitive) and alternative (constructivist) models of instructional design (ID). Discusses instructional strategies and principles, new terms versus new meaning, "straw man" and personalized arguments, expert-determined goals, research-based versus "brand-X" models,…

The speed of light is a fundamental characteristic of the universe. So many processes are related to and dependent upon it that, if creationist claims were true, the universe would be far different from the way it is now. The speed of light has never been shown to vary based on the direction from which it was measured. (PVD)

Examines the ways in which political scientists use and misuse the terms "nation" and "nationalism." Misuse occurs primarily in works such as introductory textbooks, that use the terms in passing, despite a growing convergence of expert opinion around standardized definitions. Proposes a definition for each term. (DSK)

Analyzes students' understanding of biological phenomena via the ontological categories of processes and matter. Analysis is based on tenth-grade students' explanations of biological phenomena such as photosynthesis, energy resources, temperature regulation, and the interrelationships between living and nonliving things. (Author/WRM)

In the analysis of lifelong-learning policies, the gap between rhetoric and reality has been avidly debated. Such critiques are misguided; an "exemplary" rhetorical analysis of lifelong-learning policy is possible. UK government publications suggest that rhetorical analysis helps identify the politics of discourse involved in…

Social studies educators advocate discussion as an influential instructional method to encourage students to apply knowledge and develop higher-order thinking and understanding. The classroom reality, however, is that teachers only use the discussion method sparingly. Instead, teachers predominantly use a quasi-discussion form called recitation to…

The authors evaluated the efficacy of a computer-delivered personalized normative feedback intervention in reducing alcohol consumption among heavy-drinking college students. Participants included 252 students who were randomly assigned to an intervention or control group following a baseline assessment. Immediately after completing measures of…

While an impressive body of content knowledge is associated with science courses, there is more about the scientific enterprise itself that students should learn. In addition to viewing science as a body of knowledge, students should also view science as a way of thinking and investigating and should have an understanding of how science interacts…

Psychology instructors and textbook authors rate operant conditioning as one of the most essential concepts for students to learn, yet textbook writers, as well as students, can fall prey to misconceptions. This study is a content analysis of the presentation of operant conditioning in introductory psychology textbooks and their companion Web…