A learning cycle involves the active participation of students in exploration, invention, and application phases. Describes one such learning cycle dealing with classification of matter and designed to provide students with an understanding of the terms: atom, molecule, element, compound, solution, and heterogeneous matter. (Author/JN)

Proactive interference (PI) build-up and release from PI were used to study automatic conceptual encoding of superordinate and subordinate category lists in low-socioeconomic status (SES) Black children and middle-SES White children (grades 2 and 4). (Results for each population on the three category lists are described). (GDC)

Examined are questions pertinent to the use of the Position Analysis Questionnaire: Who can use the PAQ reliably and validly? Must one rely on trained job analysts? Can people having no direct contact with the job use the PAQ reliably and validly? Do response biases influence PAQ responses? (Author/KC)

Ideas are given for including fungi in classroom activities for high school biology students. A discussion on the science of taxonomy leads into a discussion on the position of fungi in the five kingdom classification scheme of organisms. Suggestions are given for observing their growth and development. (SA)

A survey of leisure activity preferences of 16-year-old boys and girls supports an interpretation of their needs for testing themselves in competition and adventure, and for aesthetic experiences. (See TM 504 595 for availability). (Author/CTM)

The effects of three types of advance organizer lessons (containing high-order social studies concepts, high-order rules for hierarchical classification, or both) on learning social studies concepts and hierarchical classification, as defined by Piaget, were evaluated for 237 rural children in kindergarten, third, and fifth grades. (Author/MH)

Activities are suggested for children following a neighborhood walk in search of autumn's nature collectibles. Simple and complex studies are suggested. (Author/SA)

The Rurality Index measures community access to resources for resolution of local problems; includes physical, population, educational, and financial elements; and assesses community connections to the larger society and the global economy. Analysis found that U.S. metro counties were heavily skewed to the least rural end of the scale but…

The phonemic awareness of 100 children in the second semester of kindergarten was evaluated through analysis of their invented spelling patterns. A taxonomy of 10 invented spelling patterns and 21 response types was developed. A developmental ordering of spelling patterns is proposed and relationships among phonological awareness, spelling, and…

Presents a critical analysis of middle school advisor-advisee programs and a review of the history and rationale for these programs. A typology is offered for distinguishing different advisory programs, and a conceptual framework for identifying potential barriers to advisories is presented. (Author/SLD)

Examines the historical definition and use of the term "mental retardation," and the 1992 revision of the term by the American Association on Mental Retardation that focuses on limitations in functioning rather than as a characteristic of an individual. Educational implications of the new definition are discussed. (CR)

Presents a problem suggested for students in grades one through six concerning the concepts of grouping, reasoning, and pattern finding. Discusses the student problem-solving process. (ASK)

Service-learning has drawn largely on a few major theorists for theoretical support. Additional theoretical perspectives drawn from cognitive psychology and social theory can also contribute, including constructs of concept formation, selective perception, categorization, critical reflection, and mediated learning. Each of these helps to explain…

Discussion of the information needs and information-seeking behavior of interdisciplinary scholars and students focuses on kinds of research needed at both basic and applied levels. Topics include prior research; the organization, description, and indexing of information in libraries for successful information retrieval; and research techniques in…

Giving students a chance to associate numbers with subjects can be useful in speeding their location of desired print or nonprint materials and helping students feel independent when browsing. A matching game for helping students learn the Dewey numbers is presented. Instructions for the library media specialist or teacher, instructions for…