Cooperative learning is defined by an emphasis on positive interdependence among students to learn course materials, face-to-face interaction, individual accountability, the development of interpersonal and small group skills, and group processing of group functioning. In the last 10 years, lower-, upper-, and graduate-level psychology courses at…

Prior to a curriculum unit on European exploration of the New World, a class of fifth grade U.S. history students stated what they knew (or thought was true) about the discovery of America and what they wanted to learn about it. After the unit, they reported what they had learned about the general topic of European exploration of North America. In…

Empowering school participants in school restructuring has gained increasing support over the past several years. The Empowered School District Project was a 3-year study involving two universities, an educational foundation, and nine school districts and designed to empower school participants and help students become lifelong learners. The…

This paper discusses the use of quantitative methodologies to evaluate extended-stay outdoor education school programs (ESOESPs) in Australia. A recurring theme in the literature of outdoor education is the paucity of empirical data to support its continuation and development. Proponents argue that the outdoor education experience leads somehow to…

Interest in the developmental impact of college has intensified in recent years. However, researchers usually overlook one key to understanding this impact: longitudinal studies. For this investigation, data was gathered from four class cohorts, over a 17-year period, at the United States Military Academy (USMA). The results indicate that cadets…

This document provides a brief overview on the short-changing of girls in the education system. The paper suggests one solution may lie in the single-sex school for girls. Girls' schools are united in a long-standing commitment to learning environments that place girls first and foremost. All mentors and roles models provided are female, so that…

This study examined the cognitive effects of fraternity/sorority affiliation on 2,293 first-year college students at 18 four-year institutions in 15 states. It assessed the net affects of Greek affiliation on standardized measures of reading comprehension, mathematics, and critical thinking, and sought to determine if the cognitive impacts of…

This study investigated the amount of structure preferred by college students in a learning environment and evaluated responses using a notion of conceptual level. The theory of conceptual level suggests that students at higher conceptual levels prefer more independence and less structure in learning while students at lower conceptual levels…

A professional family life or youth development educator can function as a mentor to natural community leaders. The most important task of the professional educator may be to make the volunteers aware of how much they know and to encourage them to follow through on their own beliefs. Because of the limited emotional and spiritual energy available…

This book provides the college student with tips and practical strategies for studying and time management. The text is organized into eight sections with the first, "Work Smarter, Not Harder," exploring how to organize and streamline a morning routine so as to get off to a smoother start each day. The second section, "Date, Time, Place",…

Invitational education aims at creating a total school environment that intentionally summons teachers and students to realize their potential in all areas of worthwhile human endeavor and to make classrooms "the most inviting place in town." Within this model, invitational teaching addresses the role of the teacher in summoning…

These program guidelines, based on the 5-point definition of the physically educated person developed by the National Association for Sports and Physical Education (NASPE), provide reference information to states, school districts, and local schools who seek assistance in developing and maintaining quality programs in physical education. Ten…

This report describes activities of the Student Support Services Program at Wichita State University (Kansas) during 1997-1998, the second year of a five-year federal grant. The program is designed to meet the special needs of limited-income and first-generation college students, and includes study-skill development, peer tutoring, and academic…

The Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT) and the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) have formed a committee to write a new edition of the "Information Power" guidelines and to investigate the information literacy needs of K-12 students over the next 20 years. The following nine information…

Students encounter numerous volatile situations throughout their school days, especially during times of increasing diversity. "Inter-Cultural Mediation" is a single half hour video that includes a teacher's manual and student handouts. Shot in Ontario, Canada during the Commonwealth Youth Conference in Conflict Resolution, this program…