Multiple, sometimes competing, purposes for adult arts education are to develop the individual, maintain the dominant culture, or change the culture; develop appreciative audiences or creative practitioners; or liberate creativity or develop technical skills. Art may be the means or a goal in itself; that is, the arts may be used for instrumental…

This brief provides an overview of the foundation and framework for the Research Institute on Secondary Education Reform (RISER) for Youth with Disabilities. RISER focuses on secondary schools engaged in reform efforts that include students with disabilities and seeks to identify restructuring practices that benefit all students. RISERs goal is to…

This book is developed to enable students to think clearly and critically about the scientific process of research. The author emphasizes that the ability to think clearly about research methods, reason through complex problems, and evaluate published research are important in today's changing educational landscape. Students using this book will…

Problem-based learning (PBL) is a teaching technique that educates by presenting students with a situation that leads to a problem for them to solve. Rather than finding a single correct answer, students interpret the question, gather additional information, create possible solutions, evaluate options, and present conclusions. This book shows…

This book examines ways parents can use their child's interests to develop positive reading attitudes, read aloud to their child, and select books for children--with the goal of developing life-long readers. The first chapter, Creating Interest and Positive Attitudes, discusses developing an early interest in reading, the "language story"…

An initiative of the Open Society Institute (OSI) and the International Reading Association (IRA), Reading and Writing for Critical Thinking (RWCT) promotes classroom teaching practices that help students learn actively, think critically, and work cooperatively. It offers an integrated program of staff development, activities for teachers of the…

Earth is running out of space in landfills and non-renewable resources are being depleted. In this activity, students address the question, "How can we reuse some of our garbage so that we begin to throw away less?" Students brainstorm ideas for an effective board game format and design a game in which players try to come up with alternative uses…

This curriculum unit on social studies and service learning was developed during the 1996 Presidential elections. In this unit middle school students not only learn about citizenship and democracy, they also practice civic action through voter registration and community surveying. The unit helps students develop critical thinking skills as they…

This report describes a program, utilizing both critical and creative thinking skills, to enhance the educational process through the use of technology. The targeted population consisted of fourth grade students in a growing middle class community located in northern Illinois. The lack of higher-order thinking skills was documented through…

This lesson plan asks students to be staff members of a classroom newspaper that is developing a series of articles on the Holocaust. Students work in small groups to research, and eventually report on, a particular topic concerning the Holocaust. The series of articles will work as a whole to refute the arguments of those who deny the existence…

This paper discusses how most students are not yet competent critical readers of academic or electronic texts. This is especially true of English as a Second Language (ESL) and English as a Foreign Language (EFL) university students. After describing the extent of the lack of critical reading skills, an extensive literature review on the subject…

This paper describes issues encountered in a series of large-scale implementations of instructional technology in schools and vocational centers across the nation. Three tutors, the Word Problem Solving Tutor (WPS), MAESTRO, the Writing Tutor, and the science tutor, Instruction in Scientific Inquiry (ISIS) were developed. These systems were…

Outlines some of the main reasons given in support of a core curriculum in British higher education and challenges these arguments with particular references to geography. Arguments against a core curriculum include the changing nature of knowledge within the field and the strength of geography as a broad discipline. (MJP)

Describes the inclusion of critical thinking and information retrieval in an undergraduate business program utilizing active learning techniques. Presents a model assignment, outlines a library workshop, offers an evaluation of the project, and discusses librarian-faculty collaboration in creating an appropriate assignment. (Author/LRW)

Discusses use of teacher talk about innovation as an alternative to journal entries in eliciting reflective behavior. Describes a study that investigated whether teachers assembled to discuss portfolio assessment would spontaneously engage in four levels of action (describing, informing, confronting, and reconstructing). Analysis of transcripts…