In its fall 2002 session, the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges passed a resolution seeking support for policies that will improve instruction and student support services for underprepared students. This document aims to provide a basis for improving basic skills instruction and services by providing a survey of the current…

This unit of study explores elements of wonder, distortion, fantasy, and whimsy in Lewis Carroll's beloved classic "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland." In the unit, students explore concepts about Wonderland and then listen to the opening chapters of "The Nursery Alice," Carroll's adaptation for younger readers and view Sir John…

This digest examines reading approaches, identifies characteristics of fluent readers, and makes suggestions for developing reading instruction for adult English language learners. The reading instruction methods described include the phonics, psycholinguistic, interactive, and critical literacy approaches. Fluent readers are defined as those who…

First-year evaluation results of Iowa's Basic Skills Certification pilot program were reported for the four community colleges participating: Northeast Iowa, Des Moines Area, Western Iowa Tech, and Iowa Western. The pilot sites represented a variety of adult basic education instructional environments that included a workforce development center,…

A survey of graduate skills was conducted based on the responses of over 1,000 people who completed Higher National Diploma or first degree art, design, media, and related courses at The London Institute. It assessed what skills respondents acquired and developed during their course and compared these with the range of skills used in their…

This article describes two techniques for using debate as an instructional method with undergraduate and graduate students in a health occupations teacher education program. Faculty and students involved with the debate process enjoy the debate method and find it encourages independent study, group discussion, and leadership development. (Author)

Upgrading workers' skills to ensure continued regional economic growth was the theme emerging from a three-day Appalachian regional conference. Participants discussed problems and made recommendations in four workshops: Future Jobs in Appalachia; Directions for Vocational Education; State Training to Support Economic Development; and Improving…

A reply to a critique of the article "Integration of Basic Skills: The Great Deception in Elementary Social Studies" (Social Studies, Nov-Dec 1982), this article argues that reading about social studies will not teach social attitudes or problem-solving behaviors. (RM)

The heaviest burden of unemployment is borne by youth from minority groups, families with poverty-level incomes, and both central city and rural areas. Schools are in a unique and advantageous position to improve the preparation and prospects of unemployed youth. (Author/GC)

A selected annotated bibliography on the preparation of secondary school teachers is divided into five categories: (1) research on secondary education; (2) research on secondary teacher education students; (3) discussions of general secondary school teacher preparation; (4) discussions of math and science teacher preparation; and (5) discussions…

The Life Planning Workshop for High School Students focuses on developing self-control and decision-making skills to handle all the major life roles. Both short-term and long-term goals were considered. Field testing among low income Black students was successful. (JAC)

Discusses the language laboratory as a means of developing practical abilities in a foreign language. Two topics are treated specifically: (1) the laboratory from a technical and theoretical perspective, and (2) an analysis of the language skills most effectively trained through use of the language laboratory. (AMH)

Designed to instruct teachers in the construction and design of their own Learning Activity Packages (LAP), this article is itself an LAP, teaching LAP design through activities and instructional objectives. Journal availability: see RC 503 504. (SB)

To determine the effectiveness of teaching interpersonal skills in a general internal medicine residency, a program was developed utilizing videotape feedback of hospital house-staff/patient interactions. Fifty-one randomly selected house officers were included in a controlled pre- and post-test study design. The results suggest that such a…

A former university president argues that if education involves all of one's career and one's life--and all of society--we must rethink and plan educational systems to achieve lifelong learning. This requires new attitudes and new institutional structures alert to human hope as well as human needs. (Author/AF)