This supplement offers 10 articles focusing on middle school education. Topics include remembering adolescence, resources and teaching tips, active middle school students, adolescent development, challenges in middle school education, integrated studies, planning middle school special events, a writing-science-consumerism miniunit on popcorn,…

Described are three science and mathematics educational reform programs--Project 2061; Scope, Sequence and Coordination; and NCTM Curriculum and Evaluation Standards. Discussed are the needs for educational reform and the steps that each program is taking. (KR)

This article identifies interdisciplinary issues in the education of students with hearing loss. These include professional standards and codes of ethics, certification standards, teacher education, federal program laws and civil rights laws, increasing the equality of students with hearing impairments, and lifespan planning. A table lists 20…

Suggests the use of children's literature to teach about prejudice and discrimination. Provides brief descriptions of stories and books on prejudice, individual differences, and the era when racially separate was considered equal. Recommends adding geography, journal writing, group journals, and class discussions to the readings to teach social…

Describes efforts toward human rights education in Europe and how these efforts might be utilized in teaching about children's rights. Offers examples of work to help children acquire a sense of their community and its structures. Includes student drafted charters and declarations, children's councils, cooperative education, and community service.…

Contains several study methods using ferns. Includes exercises on fern propagation, gametophytes and fern hybrids, fern collection, microscope use, asexual reproduction, and fern photography. Background information describes identification techniques and the alternation of generations phenomenon. (MCO)

Addresses issues in preparing teachers to be moral decision makers, examining assumptions in holistic teacher education. The article discusses how 195 teacher education programs address ethical and moral issues. It describes how a team of educators created and implemented a program addressing elements of holistic education, noting practical…

Discusses the curriculum approach recommended by Lucy Sprague Mitchell in the 1930s that emphasized real life experiences and discoveries. Asserts that the underlying principles of the "here and now" curriculum are appropriate for today's educational environment. Describes five instructional strategies using this approach. (CFR)

Discusses purposes of the arts in early childhood education. Examines some of the contemporary proposals for art in early childhood programs, including discipline-based art education. Suggests a framework for selecting art activities for early childhood programs and provides examples of appropriate activities for young children. (CFR)

Describes the origins, development, and significant characteristics of the Kentucky Education Reform Act of 1990. Discusses the importance of outcome-based assessment in the program and presents eight "valued outcomes" that will be assessed in social studies. (CFR)

A recent case study examined how the organizational changes from junior high to middle school influenced the science program for a large North Carolina school system, focusing on teacher preparation, time allocation, interdisciplinary instruction, equipment allocation, and information and leadership issues. Science instruction was enhanced under…

The Multidisciplinary Faculty Training Institute sought to increase the capacity of institutions of higher education to refine or develop coursework, practica, and course sequences in early intervention. The project trained small groups of faculty from colleges and universities in the New York Metropolitan area and provided follow-up technical…

Use of peer mentoring to improve college instruction and the concept of mutual mentoring are discussed, drawing on four faculty mentoring projects in which mentor faculty were paired with other teachers to develop new, alternative teaching methods/materials or gain new knowledge. Cross-disciplinary mentoring and mutual faculty benefits are…

Analysis of transcripts of focus group interviews with 32 educators (general, special, administrators, related services, and instructional assistants) in 5 elementary schools identified 8 component areas of expressed training needs concerned with inclusion of students with disabilities. A training framework incorporating these areas was then…

Describes an undergraduate course that was developed at Salem State College to provide students with an overview of information technologies, including online databases, online catalogs, CD-ROM, hypertext, interactive video, electronic bulletin boards, and computer networks. Student reactions are discussed, including changed perceptions, and…