This report describes educators' collaborative self-directed experiences in learning about and producing alternative forms of assessment for use in elementary-level classrooms. The report analyzes the Virginia Standards of Learning and local curricula in English/Language Arts, Mathematics, Social Studies, and Science/Health in grades 2-4, to…

This book is a guide to incorporating multiculturalism in college curricula and offers practical pointers and strategies as well as a collection of useful references. Part 1 contains specific, practical ideas designed to be useful to instructors in all disciplines. Chapter 1 examines objectives and priorities, the structuring of syllabi, and the…

This teacher's manual is designed to accompany the curriculum "The Lessons of the Vietnam War." For each of 12 units of the curriculum, this manual suggests projects for student research and classroom activities. The 12 units are entitled: (1) Introduction to Vietnam: land, history and culture; (2) America at war in Vietnam: decisions and…

This bulletin focuses on cooperative learning with an emphasis on its use in science classrooms. A comprehensive review of the educational literature on cooperative learning is presented. Major sections of this document include the following: (1) why cooperative learning in science? (2) some characteristics of cooperative learning; (3) some…

This paper contends that the historical roots of the project approach in the United States can give strength to early childhood educators today, offering insight and models for the implementation of child-oriented curriculum. The project approach to teaching and learning evolved as a result of the educational ideas of Friedrich Froebel, William…

Responsive facilitation is an interactive orientation to formal learning that requires an individual to assume a variety of roles and to be comfortable with diverse methodologies. The major roles assumed are coach, consultant, critic, and counselor. As illustrated by the redesign of an introductory computer science course, these practices can be…

Individualized biology activities for secondary students are presented in this teaching guide. The guide is divided into five sections: (1) investigating bread mold; (2) investigating transpiration; (3) completing a botany project; (4) collecting, preserving, and identifying leaves; and (5) writing up science laboratory investigations. The…

From the assumption that matching a student's learning style with the learning method best suited for the student, it follows that developing courses that correlate learning method with learning style would be more successful for students. Albuquerque Technical Vocational Institute (TVI) in New Mexico has attempted to provide students with more…

This article describes a spontaneous project that emerged from a group of 3- and 4-year-old children in Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina. The article describes how the teachers adapted the classroom and curriculum to meet the diverse needs of children who were evacuees, as well as those children who were affected in other ways by the…

Self-directed learning has been a high-interest topic within the field of adult education for the last decade. The following are among suggestions writers have made about how adult educators can best facilitate self-directed learning: (1) encourage learners to appreciate that they can act on their world individually or collectively to transform…

This practicum was designed to increase higher level thinking skills of gifted students in primary school. The project sought to retrain students from recalling science information from the textbook to a more challenging and active form of learning through individual projects and small group and large group activities. Students were given…

Based on the idea that drama infuses the classroom with activity, imagination, language, and powerful learning experiences, this journal offers commentary and suggestions on classroom drama practices at the elementary level. The first section argues that drama motivates self-active learning and promotes language development, learning across the…

The college's role in promoting community service activities and in developing students' sense of civic responsibility is addressed in two articles: "Community Service and Higher Education: A National Agenda," by Governor of Virginia Charles Robb and Brown University President Howard Swearer; and "Community Service and Higher…

Because a review of the literature shows a relationship between reading and writing, a project devised for teaching college composition classes consists of five assignments, culminating with a formal research paper. Students begin the project by doing research on an essayist chosen from a list provided by the teacher. In the first assignment,…

There are few curricular programs or activities in the schools which help students develop skills that enable them to participate actively in voluntary civic or political activities. Literacy, and especially civic writing, is critical for participation in the civic process. But teaching civic writing, which is distinguished by its purposes,…