Examines the use of technology under two different contexts: university courses for future middle school teachers, and middle school classrooms. Emphasizes the need for young adolescents to become technologically literate. Discusses different programs to help middle school students learn how to use technology, and at the same time helping them…

In a doctoral pharmacy course, student pairs were assigned presentations on topics related to specific anemias or blood disorders, and given one-and-a-half hours to present the material, with posters as visual aids, and to answer questions. The method is seen as promoting active learning, critical thinking, and professional presentation skills,…

The Valley City State University (North Dakota) Center for Innovation in Instruction serves the entire state as an educational, informational, and support center for use of emerging technologies in education. The center supports instructional innovation, provides professional development opportunities for teachers and administrators, promotes…

Describes a cooperative effort between academics and content area specialists to create a more student-oriented curriculum. Uses classroom observations, artifacts, field notes, dialog sessions, and surveys to document reactions to this change. Initial reception from the students proved very positive. Teacher intransigence was overcome later. (MJP)

Outlines a dozen alternative formats for oral book reports that can turn this often boring ritual into an engaging learning experience. These creative formats emphasize the inherently important concepts of the books and build in listener accountability through authentic assessment. The formats include creating comic books, mock trials, and…

Provides summary reports of 81 innovative approaches to medical education in the areas of program management and assessment, admission and student-support programs, computer applications, preclinical and clinical course integration, development of professional skills and values, introduction to clinical medicine, community-based experiences,…

Varying levels of inservice training and support in use of classwide peer tutoring (CWPT) were provided for 44 elementary teachers whose classes included students with learning disabilities. Analysis of teachers' survey responses, teachers' classroom observations, and interviews of six implementors indicated that level of support did not…

Describes the procedures, preparation, and background material necessary for a class to produce an updated version of a living newspaper puppet play. These plays, originally produced by the Federal Theater Project, took a strong editorial position while examining and satirizing political issues. (MJP)

Maintains that, while teacher assessment is rapidly growing in the most commonly taught fields of music and the visual arts, it barely exists in the underdeveloped fields of dance and theater education. Examines trends in assessment including content-specific, common accreditation, and performance-based licensure. (MJP)

Argues the usefulness of timelines for fourth, fifth, and sixth grade history instruction, contending that timelines reveal history's unfolding better than fact-recall techniques. Presents ways to use timelines, including autobiographical, large display, and manipulative timelines, and combining timelines with biographies. Suggests timelines help…

Analyzes the introduction of productive work into the Brazilian schools in the 1980s. Explains that productive work is a form of vocational training that combines general education and productive work in one institution. Concludes that the production school is not a feasible alternative in improving education for the lower classes. (RW)

This case study examines the perspectives and practice of elementary mathematics teaching of a second grade teacher (Cathy Swift) in a large, socioeconomically disadvantaged California community as she attempts to implement California's Mathematics Curriculum Framework. This teacher's beliefs/knowledge and policy influences often conflicted. (TJH)

This case study assesses the adoption of the California Mathematics Curriculum Framework by a second grade teacher. Although the teacher perceives herself as successfully implementing the curriculum, observation indicates that the innovations have been filtered through a very traditional approach. The result is a remarkable melange of novel and…

This study investigated two questions: (1) will student selection of instructional materials motivate them to learn and (2) are female students reacting to discrimination in textbooks? Tested an instructional method that included discussion, brainstorming, and keeping journals and logs. Concludes that students' performance improves when they see a…

This study compared the effects of televised and programed instruction on the achievement of students from rural and urban secondary schools in Nigeria. A pretest posttest control group design was used, and it was found that the two types of instruction had different effects for different locations and ability groups. (seven references) (LRW)