Reviews research on the relationship between children's television viewing and their school achievement and describes learning activities related to television that are designed to teach vocabulary, grammar, and reading comprehension; promote independent reading; and encourage students to become more critical viewers. (Author/EM)

Maintains that the extraordinary privileges and responsibilities attached to contemporary and future United States citizenship demands a more global approach to social studies. Proposes four essential elements and three major themes to set the boundary for the scope of the social studies. Provides an illustrative example of appropriate grade level…

Examines the impact of high technology on society and the need for curriculum change to prepare students for the future. Discusses the skills needed for life-long learning, including ability to access information, critical and creative thinking, decision making, problem solving, and flexibility and adaptability. (JHZ)

Compared "extended discretion" (ED) learning approach to traditional Biological Sciences Curriculum Study (BSCS) laboratory investigations. Found that although ED students are more capable of exercising independent judgment for greater lengths of time while BSCS demanded more teacher time, all teachers were still reluctant to accord…

Among the activities at Colorado College in late-summer preparation for the coming academic year are organization of the freshman orientation program focusing on the topic of prejudice, residence hall adviser training, and faculty research. (MSE)

Describes a course in which a modified version of the Whimbey technique was used to teach verbal reasoning and vocabulary skills to minority high school students. (DF)

Describes a world geography unit for eighth-grade students which focuses on environmental hazards to demonstrate how interest in disasters and catastrophes can provide a springboard for general global inquiry. Benefits of this teaching method and usefulness to both teachers and students of studying about such events are also discussed. (MBR)

Finds that sixth- and eighth-grade students were equally able to participate in discussions of books, answering many questions at interpretive and evaluative levels of thinking. (HOD)

In collaboration, The Conference Board, Corporate Voices for Working Families, the Partnership for 21st Century Skills, and the Society for Human Resource Management conducted an in-depth study of the corporate perspective on the readiness of new entrants into the U.S. workforce by level of educational attainment. The study includes results…

This Study Circle is based on research conducted by a team led by Victoria Purcell-Gates. Their research examines the relationships between two dimensions of literacy instruction (the degree of authenticity of activities and texts and the degree of student/teacher collaboration) and changes in the literacy practices of students outside the…

This curriculum supplement, from The NIH Curriculum Supplement Series, brings cutting-edge medical science and basic research discoveries from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) into classrooms. It was designed to complement existing life science curricula at both the state and local levels and to be consistent with the National Science…

This paper discusses critical thinking and ways education leaders can apply it to problems in educational settings. It forwards a model of critical thinking, called TC2, designed by The Critical Thinking Consortium, a group of scholars, teachers, and educational leaders in British Columbia, Canada. The model addresses four interrelated components…

This document identifies priorities for ensuring a world-class education in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields for all Americans. America's competitive edge in this "flat world," its strength and versatility, all depend on an educational system capable of producing young people and productive citizens who are well…

Various student development theorists have postulated that the collegiate experience is a strong contributor toward cognitive development in college students. This essay examines Kitchener and King's (1981, 1985) reflective judgment model of cognitive development as both a metacognitive exercise and as a particular skill. The development of…

Focusing on the history and principles of the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights, the high school text and teacher's guide are intended to be the basis of study for the competitive component of the "We the People... The Citizen and the Constitution" civic education program. The 40 lessons in the text are divided into 6 study units…