The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics recently published two documents emphasizing solving nonroutine problems in meaningful contexts. "Curriculum and Evaluation Standards for School Mathematics" (1989) describes what students should know and a framework for developing appropriate curricula. "Professional Standards for…

Learning cycle techniques (exploration, concept introduction, and concept application) are presented as an effective way to help students with hearing impairments to develop science concepts and process skills. A teacher inservice program developed at the University of Indiana to help teachers use learning cycle strategies for teaching science is…

Discusses "How Does a Community Work," a Junior Achievement economic education program for second graders. Explains that the lessons teach children about how people live together and the job choices available in a community. Describes how the program fits into a social studies curriculum on neighborhoods and communities. (DK)

Discusses "Project Business," a middle school program designed by Junior Achievement. Explains that in the program a business consultant comes to the school one period a week to speak to students. Describes learning activities that include field trips, economic games, job interview demonstrations, and an essay contest. (DK)

Describes the community participation facet of the eleventh-grade social studies curriculum for British Columbia. Proposes a four-stage model to identify, study, and propose recommendations about a community issue or problem. Suggests that social action based on empirical research improves social studies instruction. (CFR)

Research has shown that learning is most effective when job-related. The ideal solution for many young students would be work-study programs or apprenticeships that closely relate learning and experience. Industry stresses the need for a fourth "R" beyond the basic literacy skills--readiness for change. Computer simulation programs may help enrich…

Outlines the theory and practice of debriefing and considers its importance in experiential learning and outdoor adventure education. Discusses theories of transfer of learning; levels of cognitive processing in relation to sequence of debriefing questions and activities; establishing supportive group behaviors; 10 soft skills needed by debriefing…

Recommends the use of cemeteries as the focus of student research in secondary social studies. Presents methods for initiating such a project and guidance for appropriate student behavior. Includes a list of suggested activities for cemetery studies. (CFR)

Offers eight projects and activities designed to make elementary students wiser television viewers and better thinkers. The activities help students get more out of television, determine what is questionable, and develop visual literacy and thinking skills. Children become active consumers of television and other visual media. (SM)

Foreign languages help advance the three key middle-level concepts of individualization, exploration, and articulation. In content-based, experiential foreign language instruction, students are immersed in the language while learning the content of other academic areas and discovering how to inquire, hypothesize, associate, and synthesize across…

Discusses situated learning and instruction. Topics discussed include situated cognition theories; prescriptions for instructional design; adapting instructional design to situated learning; evaluating situated learning; situated cognition and the role of the teacher; different types of problem-solving activities; and the work of the Cognition and…

Describes a Louisiana elementary school's multidisciplinary geography program. The class selects a destination to which they travel by imaginary plane (created in the classroom), and the teacher integrates cross-curricular skills. Students research and discuss the trip (resources, flight plans, passports, and travel logs) and write descriptive…

Presents suggestions for teaching children the science of physical fitness along with cross-curricular activities that help them stay in shape. Activities include making a fitness log to keep track of newly learned daily exercises, teaching about the Appalachian Trail then calculating and walking the equivalent distance, and charting family…

Provides Chinese instructional strategies for teaching English-as-a-Second-Language literacy that are appropriate for immigrants in the Canadian setting. These strategies arise from how the Chinese perceive literacy as a way of changing the self; present meaning before form in literacy instruction; and believe that knowledge can be gained only…

Revises 11 core practices that define the Foxfire approach, emphasizing students' choice of and responsibility for their work, teacher's role as collaborator and model, academic integrity of work undertaken, peer teaching, teamwork, connections between classroom work and community and world, reflection, honest evaluations, and the value of…