Proposes a framework to help course developers design criteria for optimal media deployment. The merits of radio, television, audio, video, and print are briefly compared with computer-based media and analyzed in light of six types of media characteristics: symbol system, access, controllability, student reactivity, interactivity, and adaptivity.…

A brief description is presented of the Swedish Scholastic Aptitude Test (SweSAT), its content, and its use. The SweSAT has been used for college admission in Sweden since 1977. Some related research activities, including studies of sex differences, dimensionality, and effects of test coaching, are described. (SLD)

Describes a study of medical students that was conducted to evaluate measures of performance on factual searches of INQUIRER, a full-text database in microbiology. Measures relating to recall, precision, search term overlap, and efficiency are discussed; reliability and construct validity are considered; and implications for future research are…

Discussion of FLES (foreign languages in elementary schools) programs in the United States looks at their history, current status within and outside the United States, important FLES issues (long-range planning, teacher qualifications and recruitment, delivery models, mandated programs, research needs, teaching methods) and importance to the…

Discusses the Global Lab Project, developed to reform science education through the implementation of experiential, student-based collaborative inquiry. The use of telecommunications, affordable scientific tools, and innovative curricula to create a global community of student researchers engaged in real-world, hands-on investigation of global…

Asked 3,200 Peruvian graduating secondary students to explain their choice concerning whether to attend college. Reveals human capital theory's limited applicability, showing only wealthier urban boys used cost effectiveness in their decision. Relates the heterogeneity of higher education demand factors to inherent limits in Latin American…

Considers biotechnology's influence on international relations, focusing on agriculture, environmental issues, law, commerce, and biological warfare. Claims that, because biotechnology cuts across international boundaries and affects public and private interests, it necessitates the rethinking of international systems theory. Urges international…

Presents a college course on women and leisure to be taught from a feminist perspective. Justifies the course and analyzes its content, assignments, and evaluation. Stresses the need to make women's leisure less invisible and to promote social change that ensures opportunities for women's leisure. Includes course syllabus. (CH)

Presents teaching strategies used in an educational foundations course that helps preservice teachers view themselves as part of a culturally diverse society. Describes an assignment that involves students researching their family history to heighten sensitivity to the cultural struggle of all ethnic groups. (NL)

Discusses electronic information technology and possible effects on research libraries' transition from print-based collections to new configurations. Topics discussed include the effects of printing on the growth and spread of information; limits to dissemination and access; electronic mail (E-mail); and new methods for scholarly publishing and…

Proposes having students write an "immigrant novel" as an alternative to a research paper, allowing them to develop awareness and understanding of the immigrant experience in U.S. history. Students use historical research methods, gain perspective on the immigration experience, and understand concepts. Outlines methods for guiding…

Community involvement is conceptualized as a typology of the following processes of social change: (1) conversion; (2) mobilization; (3) allocation of resources; and (4) instruction. The effects of these forms of involvement are considered in a review of 13 evaluations of programs for disadvantaged youth involving the community. (SLD)

Interviews Wisconsin high school economics teachers, cited for their teaching excellence, to discover methods used to correct students' misconceptions about economics. Covers opportunity cost, supply and demand, money creation, and gross national product. Finds teachers were adept at using germane examples, showed more confidence teaching…

Describes a study of sixth and seventh grade students that investigated the effects of cooperative group composition, student ability, and learning accountability on achievement, interaction, and instructional efficiency during computer-based instruction. Pretests and posttests are described, data analysis is explained, and recommendations for…

Reports results of an ethnographic study to determine what physics students consider important in their transition from high school to college. Themes emerging from the interviews that suggest ways to ease transition include when transition begins, self-identity, student and teacher work, teachers, and student responsibility. (MDH)