To monitor a statewide systemic initiative (SSI) for reform of mathematics and science, students were asked such questions as what their teachers did in science and what they themselves did in their classes. Responses were analyzed by race and gender. Different types of teaching and learning activities occurred in classes taught by teachers who…

Offers suggestions to librarians on how to teach Internet use and Web searching to beginners. Highlights include active learning, including small group assignments; Web addresses; Web site authority, currency, accuracy, commercialism, and scope; critical thinking skills; the training environment; student exercises; and educational resources for…

Discusses a middle school level interdisciplinary science project in which students create and display their own inventions. Considers the role of science, math, language arts, writing, social studies, and computer science in the project. Describes the process whereby students become inventors and present their work. (JPB)

Discusses six transformations in teachers' thinking to facilitate implementation of integrative curriculum. The transformations include rethinking the teacher as a curriculum theorist, reconceptualizing the roles of teachers and students, affirming student voices, conceptualizing authentic assessment, and restructuring the classroom environment.…

Discusses a training course for middle school teachers that requires the cooperative student development of an integrated, thematic teaching unit based upon an ordinary object or idea, such as food. Describes the steps to developing the units and provides examples of interesting facts teachers and students learned. (JPB)

Democracy in education has many facets: mass access to education, democratic governance of schools, education about citizenship, and education for citizenship. The skills and dispositions necessary for effective democracy can only be learned by practicing them, yet most secondary students have neither political rights nor a political role. Student…

Reviews a variety of information models developed to provide support for student research that will help school library media specialists meet the needs of diverse learners when providing course integrated library instruction. Each model assumes learning as an active and creative process and promotes the development of critical thinking skills.…

Discusses ways in which a global perspective can influence the college mission and curriculum. Asks what the institution, acting in a global capacity, can do for its students, rather than what the global economy can do for the institution. Warns that in the rush to globalize, college leaders must be clear about their purpose and focus on the…

This study fills a gap in the current HRD [human resource development] literature of return on investment (ROI) analysis of technology-based learning interventions. Using a Type IV control group method as defined by Wang (2002), the study empirically analyzed and measured the learning effectiveness and the business impact of an e-learning system…

This paper is a case study on the use of active learning techniques in an upper-level engineering course at the Helsinki University of Technology. The paper describes how these techniques were introduced and successfully used within the Finnish university classroom. The cultural subtext is explored and attention is given to teaching techniques…

This paper considers some of the problems inherent in teaching qualitative research methods within psychology. It stresses the use of a reflective approach to course design that aims to "emancipate" students in their own study and research, as well as equipping them with a combination of practical and theoretical skills. In addition to a brief…

In the process of designing and field-testing bioinformatics curriculum materials, we have adopted a three-stage, progressive model that emphasizes collaborative scientific inquiry. The elements of the model include: (1) context setting, (2) introduction to concepts, processes, and tools, and (3) development of competent use of technologically…

The scholarship of teaching has its roots in reflective teaching practice. Every time a teacher is taken by surprise at something that has occurred in a course, whether he or she prefers that it not be repeated, or that it take place regularly, an opportunity exists for the scholarship of teaching to begin. In this essay, the author's intent is to…

Extensive assessment of innovative core courses pointed to five features of the courses that led to students being actively engaged in learning. Faculty teaching the courses created an environment to foster collaborative learning, facilitated student ownership of learning, structured their courses to connect academic ideas with other disciplines…

Active and experiential learning theory have not dramatically changed collegiate classroom teaching methods, although they have long been included in the pedagogical literature. This article presents an evolved method, reality based learning, that aids professors in including active learning activities with feelings of clarity and confidence. The…