Proposes the use of simulations to develop oral-language skills in the English-as-a-Foreign-Language classroom. Simulations allow students to interact in meaningful and realistic contexts and generate their own discourse. (Author/VWL)

Research-based learning (RBL) is a model for merging research and undergraduate education. To link RBL with a curriculum across the institution, the authors used discipline-specific RBL strands, each of which is a set of interconnected course options that couple out-of-class research experiences with an established curriculum. Student learning is…

Explains the Core Skills framework which emerged as part of the Higher Still Development Programme in Scotland at the same time as similar developments of Key Skills in the rest of the United Kingdom. Describes the unique aspects of the Scottish program. (WRM)

Draws on research/development projects aimed at raising achievement through teaching thinking to explore core concepts of thinking skills and learning. Argues that educators need to move from the idea of developing the thinking child to creating powerful learning environments, thinking classroom, schools, and communities. Discusses approaches to…

Contends that many violin students attempt difficult concertos before they are technically or musically prepared. Identifies a variety of concertos at the intermediate and advanced intermediate-level for students to study and master before attempting the advanced works by Bach and Mozart. Includes concertos by Vivaldi, Leclair, Viotti, Haydn,…

Discusses the available options for resolving imbalances between training for employment and previous basic education. States that training in specific skills cannot replace basic education. Asserts that the process of technological change corresponds to an increased demand for workers with a high level of education, and identifies overlooked…

Argues that the United Kingdom's National Curriculum recommendations regarding data analysis tasks do not explain the specific activities clearly enough to assist teachers in deciding what practices to follow. Presents research that shows that the range of data-analysis tasks that pupils can perform depends on the type of data as well as on the…

Addresses issues facing designers of Web-based university level courses, drawing from experience in distance education. Topics include a paradigm shift to distributed learning; technologies involved in an ideal online course; study guides; assignments; asynchronous and synchronous communication; email; interactive skill building; and theoretical…

Presents three short Internet assignments that can be used in an introductory undergraduate U.S. government course. Explains that the assignments foster students' understanding of political science concepts, political behavior, and government structures while also improving students' information seeking skills. Provides results from student…

Explains that there are two forms of braille in existence, literary and music, and maintains that music educators can help blind students learn to read music through the use of braille. Provides resources for teaching blind music students, including college-bound musicians, from parents and colleagues to recorded music, publications, and…

Believes that the current geography curriculum in New Zealand needs to be reevaluated in order to maintain geography's relevance in the school curriculum. Discusses the strengths and weaknesses of the current curriculum and considers possible content for a new curriculum, such as field inquiry and global patterns and processes. (CMK)

Reviews past and present conceptualizations and summarized narrative and meta-analytic reviews of social skills training (SST) outcome studies. Overall, modest effect sizes are reported in the meta-analytic literature, suggesting that SST is a relatively weak intervention strategy. Recommendations for rebuilding SST are provided. (Author/CR)

Explains the basics of World Wide Web (WWW) connectivity: the types of hardware needed to access the WWW; Internet service providers; and Internet browsers, the software used to make the WWW available to users. Following the article is a WWW self-assessment skill check list. (CR)

Many graduate students lack the capacity for self-authorship, the ability to develop one's own perspective. Data from a longitudinal study of sixteen students, begun in their first year of college, illustrates the difficulty of moving from embracing multiple perspectives to constructing self-authored perspectives. The stories of three graduate…

The National Science Education Standards "Science as Inquiry" recommendations include developing student abilities to conduct inquiry and enhancing students' understandings about scientific inquiry. Standards also call for inquiry-based teaching aimed at understanding subject matter and ability to conduct scientific inquiry. A…