Presents a detailed assessment of a summer national Science Foundation Young Scholars Program for ninth and 10th graders. Results indicate that students perceive program success (emphasis on project success) differently from teachers and program organizers. Identified six variables that must be incorporated appropriately into the design of a…

In a clothing for special needs class, one student project involved becoming a clothing consultant to a blind man. The student and client evaluated and coded his wardrobe using a Braille-adapted computer, made Braille labels for clothing, and shopped to fill gaps in the wardrobe. The service learning project connected classroom learning with a…

Presents classroom curriculum and student projects that use dynamical systems--something that changes over time, such as weather or populations--to capture students' attention. (MKR)

Presents a rationale and method for introducing a hypertext authoring assignment in a professional writing course in computer-aided publishing. Describes a rhetorically centered pedagogy that incorporates portfolio assessment, collaborative authoring, and real world projects for teaching hypertext within the context of situated problem-solving…

Describes how one elementary school teacher uses three cornerstones to build a safe community for herself and her students: getting to know parents by asking herself to dinner; working with big ideas on long-lasting projects that grab students' attention and focus their drive to belong and to communicate with their classmates; and portfolios. (SR)

Technology is no "silver bullet" for transforming education. Observations in nine technology-using schools suggest that for technology to serve reform purposes, it must be tied to a coherent, schoolwide instructional agenda. Reform-minded schools should articulate their mission and restructure activities around student needs and…

Provides a guide for helping students perform melodramas via the intercom. The benefits include motivating students to read and heightening student self-esteem. Suggests five elements for a successful performance: a clearly written script, rehearsals, optimal voice levels and microphone distance, an introduction by the principal, and…

Gifted intermediate-level students in Greenville, South Carolina, held a Future Fair in which students completed projects and developed critical and creative thinking skills as they investigated real problems. Projects such as models, inventions, photo essays, and creative writing focused on future schools, art, fashions, space travel, and other…

Describes a school-based storytelling project in which teacher trainees highlighted the values of storytelling and reading. Shows specifically what students were asked to do in planning the proceedings of the events. (HB)

A course taught at Pacific Lutheran University (Washington) encourages students to transform inner creative energy into an expression of their changing, developing identities. Students make shrines to their childhoods, create models, or costume themselves to express their inner lives. (MSE)

Describes the successes and difficulties of a project in which students from ninth to twelfth grades, over the course of a school year, wrote a book on the African American community of Louisville, Kentucky. (SR)

A vocational education program at the Wildwood Education Center (Hornell, NY) enabled 9th and 10th grade special education students to design, build, and market turkey calls. A module on wildlife management piqued student interest in wildlife calls and turkey hunting and led to the project. The program improved vocational skills and increased…

Advocates treating at-risk learners as all learners are treated to improve the chances of helping these learners become successful. Discusses organizing instruction, focusing on concepts, stimulating higher-order thinking, and using content area resources effectively. (SR)

Describes cooperative group rotation, in which resource books rotate around all the student groups in a classroom. Notes that students thus have access to a variety of books in a small group setting, participate actively, and use information to create projects that demonstrate knowledge about the subject. (SR)

A teacher describes activities to increase elementary students' active involvement in their science education. Activities involve development of observational skills, increasing self-motivation, developing prediction skills, and cooperating in joint learning activities. (DB)