This booklet was developed from a 1996 grant program for international education exchange. U.S. curriculum writers worked with writers in partner countries to design training and create a handbook for curriculum development. The "Train the Writers" program was piloted with 14 educators from 7 countries, and this publication,…

Case studies can be a powerful strategy to use for helping students learn critical thinking processes that are key to interpreting and responding to literature and writing. Some of the major benefits of applying case methods are: cases provide an environment for active learning; they encourage the creation of a community of learners; cases help…

This paper discusses research on activity structure design in a project-based science classroom and efforts to adapt designs from this setting to an after-school program involving historical inquiry. Common activity structures such as classroom lessons and Initiation-Reply-Evaluation (I-R-E) sequences are important cultural tools that help…

This document consists of two booklets, one for teachers and one for students. These booklets are part of the Elementary School Program of Junior Achievement, Inc. and introduces students to world resources, economic systems, monetary exchange, and trade. The booklets are designed to introduce students to key aspects of global trade and to help…

The Foxfire approach to teaching and learning emerged from an experiential education program that used oral history methods to teach English to high school freshmen in Appalachian Georgia. In the 30 years since that program began, hundreds of teachers have helped develop and revise Foxfire's 11 core practices. This digest describes the Foxfire…

This paper discusses total physical response storytelling (TPR-S) as a promising approach to teaching a Native American language to Native students who have not learned it at home. TPR-S is an extension of James Asher's TPR immersion approach to teaching second languages. It has become very popular with indigenous teachers because it allows…

This guide offers suggestions for implementing active learning techniques in the community college classroom. The author argues that, although much of the literature on active learning emphasizes collaboration and small-group learning, active learning does not always involve interaction. It must also involve reflection and self-monitoring of both…

A basic bacteriology course was offered in two successive academic years, first in a conventional format and subsequently as a "hybrid" course. The latter combined (i) online presentation of content, (ii) an emphasis on online resources, (iii) thrice-weekly, face-to-face conversations to advance understanding, and (iv) frequent student…

This book examines the theoretical and practical issues surrounding today's technology-integrated classroom. The chapters cover the following topics: (1) reasons to integrate technology into the classroom, including the changing world, enriched learning and increased productivity, the learner, the workplace, past experience, and future trends; (2)…

The purpose of this study is to describe the assessment environment in constructivist-oriented science, technology, and society (STS) classrooms. Data were gathered from in-depth interviews and subjected to a constant comparative analysis associated with a grounded theory model. Three themes emerged from the analysis: (1) a description of the…

Spatial dynamics is an instructional strategy whereby students create large scale models that capture the details of a historic event. This Digest discusses classroom floor models and papier mache models. Floor models are best suited to elementary classrooms and middle schools. Papier mache models, appropriate for high school social studies…

Current debates regarding teaching children to read are centered around the most effective way to establish a foundation for literacy in the early years. This document is comprised of a set of three position papers on how the High/Scope Educational Research Foundation teaches young children to read in its infant-toddler, preschool, and early…

According to the National Science Education Standards, science curricula should emphasize understanding, reasoning, and problem solving. In order to align with the standards, the learning environment should be an active learning environment rather than a lecture-centered format in postsecondary education. This study evaluates a new format for an…

This 23-minute videotape illustrates how staff of preschools, child care centers, Head Start programs, and other early childhood settings can create an environment that welcomes family members and is accepting of each child's family experiences and culture. The videotape features scenes from a variety of High/Scope classrooms to illustrate the…

The teacher-centered model that has dominated instruction for centuries is slowly giving way to a learner-centered conception with instructors in roles of facilitators, or "guides on the side." Active learning and collaboration increasingly characterize learning environments. E-learning is unable to promote learning on its own. Its use does not…