This essay discusses the state of foreign language (FL) instruction in the European Community, the strengths and weakness of the communicative approach to FL instruction, and recent trends in FL teaching methods. The communicative approach, in widespread use since the 1970s, emphasizes the use of the target language in the classroom, deemphasizes…

This report appraises a 3-year project that sought to develop leadership teams in 10 schools so as to assist schools in revitalizing their guidance programs around a developmental approach. The focus was to create a guidance curriculum that was proactive rather than reactive and for the program to be installed in the school's regular curriculum.…

Project TEACH (Teacher Education: A Career Headstart) was created at LaGuardia Community College (LCC), New York, to recruit community college students for a career in teaching and provide them with educational, personal, and career support and counseling as they complete a pre-education curriculum. During its 3 years in operation, Project TEACH…

Arguing that the use of video in science instruction is an effective way to infuse both action and emotion into the educational setting, this paper chronicles faculty efforts at Brevard Community College (BCC), in Cocoa, Florida, to develop videos for science instruction and provides recommendations for producing similar videos. Following a…

Information about good practice in classroom teaching is needed to inform educational planners and practitioners of the development and improvement of curricula and teaching and as a resource for further curriculum reform. This paper, part of a study on teacher effectiveness, reports on classroom research in a Malaysian secondary school 4 years…

"OATYC Journal," which is published by the Ohio Association of Two-Year Colleges, is designed as a forum for the exchange of concepts, methods, and findings relevant to the two-year college classroom. Along with commentaries and letters of reaction from the readership, the two issues of volume VII include the following articles: (1)…

The seven presentations in this collection explore the directions technology is taking, its importance to teaching and learning, and the role of two-year college trustees in realizing technology's contribution to student success. First, Norman Locksley provides a "Welcome and Overview." Next, "Technology Today: Direction for 2001," by Bob Vogt,…

As the year 2000 approaches, the need for rural schools to rise to the challenges of the future becomes more pressing. This paper articulates: (1) the concept of inter-state collaboration in teacher education; (2) how colleges and public schools can work together to meet the needs of students in rural areas; (3) the New York State and Vermont…

In 1989, the Australian state of Victoria introduced a major curriculum reform in postcompulsory education. Curriculum requirements are set out as guidelines to allow schools to vary content and approach while still meeting prescribed work requirements. Assessment responsibilities have shifted from externally set and examined tasks to school-based…

This article, by the IBM (International Business Machines) program manager for the Institute for Academic Technology (IAT), is premised on the idea that the use of computers can help address many of the issues facing undergraduate education today. Computers in the classroom can enrich both teaching and learning. The IBM personal computer and the…

This report describes Project Success Enrichment, a language arts program and designated a National Diffusion Network exemplary program that has proven successful with students of all ability levels program that has proven successful with students of all ability levels and cultural backgrounds, including American Indian students. Currently, this…

This paper offers a synthesis of research on cooperative learning in small groups. The main challenge for teachers who utilize cooperative learning is to stimulate the type of interaction desired according to their teaching objective. A generalization regarding student interactions is that if students are not taught differently, they will tend to…

This Research in Brief describes the scientific methodologies used to perform a review of crime prevention programs and then discusses what research has shown to work, what it has shown not to work, and what approaches seem promising for crime prevention. The first step was to identify and review reports evaluating the effectiveness of crime…

When she began teaching, one instructor thought everything had to come from her. It took a couple of years before she understood that what students themselves bring to the experience is instrumental--even vital--in helping them connect with what happens in the classroom. In their freshman composition journals, students produced writing based on…

A consistent lesson from the literature on school change is that no single method exists for improving schools. In that spirit, this book presents a collection of short articles that address a wide sampling of ideas and trends in educational change. All the articles were originally published in "Education Update," the official member…