To address the professional needs of principals and other middle management supervisors, school boards might consider meet-and-discuss sessions, a middle ground between unilateral board action and collective bargaining. Sessions are nonbinding, produce better decisions, confront root causes of job dissatisfaction, and can strengthen the management…

A detailed comparison of the information concerning teacher performance generated by the questionnaires and discussion did not substantiate the common assumption that free discussion would raise more issues and suggestions for teaching improvement, but teachers preferred the discussion method. (MSE)

Provides step-by-step description of a group intermix strategy ("tearing up the book") intended to ensure that a group of learners shares a body of knowledge prior to discussion. Offers suggestions for using strategy in rural classrooms. Includes 19-item annotated bibliography of appropriate grade 5-12 books for using this technique.

Developments in the context of the increasing professionalization of teacher training in England are examined. Topics covered include the integration of theory and practice, a multidisciplinary approach to teacher education courses, the change in teaching styles, and educational discussion groups. (Author/MT)

Social skills training involving role playing, teacher praise, cuing, and coaching was applied with an isolated, gifted 11-year-old enrolled in a regular sixth grade classroom. The intervention resulted in a significant increase in the student's participation in classroom discussions. (CB)

Defines aesthetic scanning, the perceptual activity that artists use when creating art and that connoisseurs use when contemplating it. Shows how to ask questions that elicit information about the sensory, formal, expressive, and technical properties of a work of art. (JDH)

The role that food-preparation activities could play in developing understanding of mathematical ideas by middle school students is discussed. Measurement, computation, language, attitudes, and problem solving are addressed. (MNS)

Concludes that semantic maps do not work alone, but must be built in class during discussion of vocabulary. Shows that discussion alone works well for most students. (FL)

A sequel to an article appearing in the previous issue of this journal, this article continues to report on a meeting in which journalism advisers discussed problems they had in common. (DF)

Reports on a meeting in which journalism advisers discussed problems they had in common. (DF)

Describes the questioning technique used by the Great Books Programs, specifically the formulation of interpretive questions. Shows how the technique works in the English classroom. (EL)

High schools seek to maximize student holding power providing something for everybody. This shopping mall concept produces schools in which variety, choice, and neutrality are counterproductive for some individuals. To counteract this effect schools need to take risks through greater commitment to individual student development and to higher…

Discusses the value of preserving wonder and curiosity as part of a child's intellectual growth and experience in elementary school science. Practical steps for handling students' wonder questions are identified, including children's knowledge, speculation and hypothesis, identification of possible inquiry methods, research, and sharing new…

Describes a hands-on activity that explores how individuals learn, perceive, and make decisions about the environment. The activity allows participants to discover their teaching/learning styles, explore the design process as a decision-making tool, and experience the process of locating local resources for classroom use. (BC)

Outlines aims of professional conferences and discusses conferences as learning experiences and change agents. Discussion of conference focuses on ways to improve conferencing activities, participant preparation, and conference planning and organization. Appendices contain outlines of objectives of a conference on teaching and learning and a…