Describes a freshman-level communications course within a business college that uses holistic instruction and that fuses the language arts to help students with college-level reading, writing, speaking, and listening. (SR)

Decreasing emphasis on the environment in outdoor and adventure education is resulting in ecologically less knowledgeable participants. It is critical that the environment continue to be part of these programs for three reasons: citizenship and stewardship; empathy and counterbalancing a narcissistic focus on thrills; and opportunities to get in…

A multi-centric model of education is proposed that actively works to de-center dominant Eurocentric knowledge and incorporate other worldviews throughout all aspects of teaching and learning. The model has four primary learning objectives: integrating multiple centers of knowledge, affecting social and educational change, recognizing and…

Asserting that the key sectors of the educational system operate independently of each other and fail to properly communicate their mutual expectations regarding the skills and knowledge that students must master, describes the basic tenets of a P-16 (preschool through postsecondary) educational system, with particular emphasis on the role of…

A project is described in which a support team collaborated with the science department of a British high school to develop a "whole school" approach to serving children with special educational needs. "New paradigm" research, which aims to involve the subjects of an inquiry as collaborators, was used in the project. (JDD)

Four principles are presented for teaching children, across age and grade levels, to write and enjoy writing: interrelating literature and writing, teaching writing as an intellectual rather than a mechanical process, emphasizing process over product, and teaching writing as a holistic process rather than a set of isolated skills. (PB)

Discusses issues related to the movement toward minimum competency in secondary education. Addresses the problem of defining minimum competency and the dangers of imposed standardization. Identifies three conceptualizations of minimum competency as: (1) the narrowly educational standpoint, (2) the concern with functional literacy, and (3) a more…

Discusses the use of semantic mapping in social studies as a means of conceptually organizing written material. Points out that this process is useful because it gives students an overview of the content prior to reading materials and provides an opportunity for students to develop visual images. Offers four examples. (KO)

Describes recent, major contributions to both sides of the debate between phonics instruction and the "meaning-based" approaches. Argues that it is too early to evaluate the debate, but that a tentative evaluation of the evidence favors meaning-based approaches. (RS)

Investigates whether early reading comprehension is holistic or comprises different separate subskills. Finds that reading comprehension of early readers is holistic, closely related to general intelligence and verbal problem solving. (RS)

Describes alternative assessment approaches that provide important information about students with reading difficulties. Criticizes the medical or diagnostic/prescriptive approach to diagnosis. Presents a four-step diagnostic process derived from the holistic/wellness model. (HB)

In presearch, students can develop an overview of a search topic; a graphic organizer in the form of a web can be used. The browse and hypertext features of electronic encyclopedias enable students to explore topics and develop search strategies. The information-gathering process should be holistic and nonlinear. (AEF)

Based on interviews with a principal and two teachers at a Virginia elementary school piloting a multiage program for six- to eight-year-olds, this article describes the program's bottom-up development, holistic orientation, and stress on team teaching and continuous progress. Next year's program will offer more options, including a fourth- and…

Addresses several issues about teaching and learning from Virginia's state capital sphere of responsibility: the state board of education's stake in the quality of teaching and learning; why they get involved; whether they help create environments in which teaching and learning can flourish; and whether they are learners themselves. (SM)

Elementary teachers can use graphing to introduce students to one another. An eye color graphing activity helps students learn more about each other while experimenting with different ways of organizing and displaying information. For follow up, students can apply their graphing knowledge by collecting and displaying data from their families. (SM)