Describes how to build a tool for helping environmental educators manage the complexity of dynamic systems studied in environmental education program and lesson planning. The tool, called the holistoscope, is a visual aid to correlate learning processes in the environmental education ecosystem to human environment dimensions. Diagram included.…

Delphi and Q-sort techniques were used by 34 educators to rank technology education curriculum guidelines for developing countries. The highest-ranked issues included the following: technology education should teach creative thinking and problem solving, it should be part of general education for all, and it should integrate other subjects. (SK)

The United Nations University (UNU) is an international academic organization which brings together leading international scholars to tackle world problems. This article describes for South African scholars, institutions, governments, and their agencies the importance of the work being undertaken by the UNU and encourages their participation. (EV)

Describes findings of a NASP-funded survey designed to identify and document exemplary mental health programs in which school psychologists were involved in program design, implementation, and/or evaluation. Results suggest school psychologists can assume a crucial role in providing mental health services for schools and communities. (Author/JDM)

Presents four writer-teachers' discussions of creative writing programs in two-year colleges. Discusses if creative writing programs have different goals/functions in two-year schools. Considers if there are any differences in the students, their goals, preparation, and experience. Discusses the untapped potential or future of creative writing in…

The 21st century career tech school brings together academics and career skills for a complete education. This article describes the new Romeo Engineering & Technology Center (RETC) in Romeo, Michigan. The 90,288-square-foot facility accommodates up to 720 students in grades 9-12, and sports a building design that evolved through a detailed,…

Autism, a lifelong neurological disorder that affects the functioning of the brain, occurs in about one out of every thousand individuals. This disorder can occur at or before birth and the symptoms are usually manifested during the first 3 to 5 years of life. Males are four times as likely to have the disorder, but it affects females more…

Soft skills are attitudes and behaviors displayed in interactions among individuals that affect the outcomes of such encounters. These differ from hard skills, which are the technical knowledge and abilities required to perform specific job-related tasks more formally stated in job descriptions. In the past, it was felt that managers and employees…

In the spring of 2005, the author designed and taught a graduate-level course on digital game-based learning primarily for teachers. Teachers cannot be expected to embrace digital games as a tool for learning unless they have a sound understanding of the potential as well as the limitations, and are confident in their ability to use games…

After-school education programs for at-risk students are often implemented to increase academic performance and college readiness. This article explores the terms "out-of-school" and "after-school" related to college preparation programs and suggests that these programs should consider attendance, participation and intensity to impact a student's…

Tying teachers' pay to their classroom performance should, says Victor Lavy, improve the current educational system both by clarifying teaching goals and by attracting and retaining the most productive teachers. But implementing pay for performance poses many practical challenges, because measuring individual teachers' performance is difficult.…

The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation's Graduate Education Initiative (GEI) provided funding to 54 departments in the humanities and related social sciences during the 1990s to improve their PhD programs. This article estimates the aspects of PhD programs the GEI influenced and how these aspects influenced attrition and graduation probabilities. It uses…

Joseph Zins was a forerunner in empirically demonstrating the interrelationship of SEL interventions and school success. This commentary highlights his perspectives on the accumulating body of evidence for the academic gains that have been associated with various SEL interventions and aims to show how new research methodologies can further extend…

This article is about how information is gathered in organizations to make decisions. There is actually a long history in economics on this topic, called the "economics of information," but this is a bare beginning on the topic for libraries, suggesting only a few patterns from observation and a few literatures that might help with the challenge.…

Two lines of research have emerged to study the causes and prevention of student failure in virtual (K-12) schools: studies of learner characteristics and studies of learning environment characteristics. To develop a useful model for predicting failure and promoting success in virtual school environments, a study was designed to measure the…