Provides a six-part lesson plan for use in secondary U.S. history classes. Illustrates the development of higher-order reading, writing, and thinking skills in assignments and projects dealing with the history of westward expansion. Specific skills addressed are comparison, contrast, prediction, and evaluation. Recommends cooperative learning…

A male minority-group high school student and a teacher at Putnam High School in Springfield (Massachusetts) share experiences with community service learning (CSL) projects. A project facilitator describes the plans for implementing CSL throughout the city. (SLD)

Contends that students enjoy social studies instruction more when new information can be personalized and reshaped into original material. Reports on the content and teaching methods used in an ancient middle east unit designed for the sixth grade. Includes three charts and one table that illustrate the instructional strategies. (CFR)

Describes a year-long project created and undertaken by a group of 14 eighth-grade girls to conduct interdisciplinary research on teenage sexuality and pregnancy. The project involved reading and discussing fiction and nonfiction, conducting interviews with teenage mothers, writing and publishing a booklet, and mentoring a group of fifth- and…

Describes the development of a yearlong plan to increase student reading in an elementary school media center. Discusses the involvement of families in literacy programs; extending services of the media center; community involvement, including readings by community leaders; students writing and publishing their own books; and reading clubs. (LRW)

Describes the Multicultural Project at a high school in Colorado that uses literature by people of color in the 11th-grade curriculum. Presents brief descriptions of four Latino/a and five Native American writers and their works. Discusses the many ways the Multicultural Project has added to that school's American literature curriculum. (SR)

Introduces a new way for students to evaluate the quality of sites on the Internet. Takes the students through six main points to accomplish this evaluation in the classroom. By following these guidelines, students can develop their critical-thinking skills about the quality of accessible technology. (MJP)

Describes an interdisciplinary group research WebQuest project for middle school students on global warming that was developed to target science and technology content standards for Maine's K-12 performance standards. Discusses technology integration, student research skills, use of Internet information, and cooperative and active learning. (LRW)

Reports results of a qualitative study that examined what a group of fifth graders thought about using the "Research Buddy," a World Wide Web site designed to help them do a research project. Findings center on the comparison of student perceptions with observed student behavior. The data collection instruments are appended. (MES)

Describes a seventh-grade class project in which students researched a specific social problem, proposed an action plan, and took steps to implement the plan. Students who chose problems closer to home (the elderly, literacy, dropouts) were able to develop more effective action plans. (MJP)

Describes the evolution of a university course from a face-to-face experience to a Web-based asynchronous learning environment. Topics include cognition and learning; distance learning and distributed learning; student learning communities and the traditional classroom; the future as it relates to education and technology; collaborative student…

Idaho secondary students learn the scientific method through outdoor environmental projects related to water quality monitoring. A program trains teachers to design project-based learning and provides extensive followup support. Five-day summer workshops immerse teachers in the types of projects they will orchestrate with their own students.…

Describes how the Hershey Montessori Farm School in Huntsburg, Ohio, developed an advanced biology course, which begins with an experience-based, task-oriented approach within different biomes of the surrounding environs while incorporating high school content and scientific method. Concludes that integrating place-based and contextual inquiries…

Over the past decade calls for reform in higher education have emphasized that education should become less instructor centered with students taking a more active role in their learning. Moreover, there is increasing pressure on university professors to implement student centered teaching strategies that negate time and place restrictions of the…

Across America, colleges and universities proclaim their commitment to liberal education through general education mission statements touting outcomes such as increased intellectual awareness, breadth of learning, communication skills, and critical thinking. According to this author, however, general education programs are burdened by several…