Stipulates that critical thinking requires classroom environments mutually created by social studies students and teachers. Suggests empowerment and cooperative learning become more than buzz words in environments conducive to critical thinking. Provides a list of questions for students and teachers to examine their roles in creating democratic…

Provides excerpts from Shalva Amonashvili's 1983 teacher's guide, "Hello Children." Explains that "Hello Children" is based on Amonashvili's successful experience teaching six-year olds and increasing the elementary grades to four (now implemented throughout the USSR). Amonashvili stresses teachers' love for children and…

Describes characteristics of "experts," arguing that community college students need to become expert learners. Discusses expert learners' types of knowledge, use of comprehension monitoring, motivation, and self-regulation. Discusses "direct instruction" and "metacurriculum" approaches for teaching learning-to-learn strategies. Reviews…

Reviews arguments surrounding the inclusion of computer literacy as part of core requirements for all undergraduates, considering the effect of the current postsecondary educational reform movement. Describes seven models for linking general education and computer science, and highlights American University's approach, which integrates computing…

Presents findings about retention rates, earned credits, and grade point averages for four cohorts of first-time college freshmen in a support program for minority students. Describes a five-part research plan: (1) application of descriptive statistics; (2) multicohort analyses; (3) definition of retention; (4) adoption of an outcomes typology;…

A survey of 96 past leaders of college Greek organizations (chapter presidents, Pan-Hellenic councils, Greek service organizations) at Western Illinois University investigated the impact of Greek leadership experience on work-related and personal life skills. Ninety-five percent felt their undergraduate Greek leadership position was extremely…

I conducted surveys, focus group interviews, and analyzed the yearbooks of fifty four yearbook students from five rural high schools to investigate students' process of yearbook construction and to determine what was meaningful and memorable to them throughout their high school experience. Chang's (1992) construct of an adolescent ethos, including…

In December 2001, as part of a Preparing Tomorrow's Teachers to Use Technology grant, the St. Mary's College writing center dedicated space, software, and trained personnel to assist students and teachers in the writing and development of electronic portfolios. They created a unified space for faculty and student development across disciplines.…

Success in today's K-12 environment often hinges on improved test scores. But success should be defined more broadly to recognize the overall learning environment that is created by students, teachers, staff members, administrators, and parents. As a middle level principal, the author has learned that to create long-lasting change and to foster a…

Our department has redesigned its electrical engineering and computer engineering programs completely by adopting a learning methodology based on competence development, problem solving, and the realization of design projects. In this article, we show how this pedagogical approach has been successfully used for learning compiler design.

An intervention with six elementary-aged students with behavioral disorders was designed to increase positive attitudes toward school and learning, to improve self-esteem and empowerment, and to decrease inappropriate behaviors. The Foxfire pedagogy was used to achieve academic goals and to empower students. Students identified characteristics of…

This paper proposes a model for graduate student success and reports the results of a study of factors affecting the success of 40 first-year graduate students. Based on a review of the literature, a four-element model for graduate success was devised that focused on: (1) immersion in research activities; (2) academic regimen and planning; (3)…

This proceedings reports on a 2-day conference which was the culminating event of a study on ways in which to better integrate the liberal arts with teacher preparation. The papers in this volume represent a cross-section of the growing body of knowledge surrounding portfolios and teacher education. The strongest conclusions drawn from the…

This publication contains a collection of 95 abstracts of presentations on college student transitions, particularly those of freshmen, transfer students, and seniors. Each abstract is designed to give the reader a short summary of a presentation and to provide the name, address, and telephone number of the person to contact for additional…

Historically, the place of career education in the educational agenda has not been clear. No shared belief exists as to how schools ought to prepare students for adult life. This digest outlines a new model of career education. Schools need to have clear and specific outcomes for each aspect of personal growth and development for students. Goals,…