A college English teacher, dissatisfied with the approach used in her composition classes and with its results, turned to the Outward Bound concepts of the German physician and schoolmaster, Kurt Hahn. These concepts include a belief in the value of creating adversity in order to overcome it, a belief that important things happen to people who are…

The first working paper of the Learning in Science Project (Primary)--LISP(P)--"Toward a Framework," outlined what was then seen (1982) as the major aim of the project and proposed a research plan that seemed capable of enabling the project to establish difficulties that teachers have teaching science, to identify difficulties children…

In order to investigate the nature of students' prior knowledge of current electricity and how they applied their knowledge to different problems, 5 middle school science teachers and 11 elementary school teachers were given a written test that required them to: (1) predict what happens to the brightness of a bulb if a change is made to the…

This paper is a summary of much of the available research on college science laboratory instruction of the past decade with a focus on the effects of specific laboratory teaching strategies upon student learning outcomes. Some tentative interpretations from a review of the literature found are: (1) inquiry or investigative approaches in college…

This research review examines the effects of instructional variables on the learning of handicapped and nonhandicapped individuals. The research review begins with an historical look at learning disabilities research. An overall analysis of the differential effects of instructional variables on learning-disabled and nonhandicapped individuals…

The Center for Teaching and Learning at Ball State University is described in this report. Designed to make continuing efforts to improve the teaching and learning process, it offers many unique programs aimed at disseminating knowledge on the subject and encouraging faculty to use the results of these activities to improve their teaching. Some of…

This paper uses a structural model with a large random sample of urban children to explain children's competence in math concepts and computation at the time they begin first grade. These two aspects of math ability respond differently to environmental resources, with math concepts much more responsive to family factors before formal schooling…

Writing and reading can be viewed as processes in which meaning is gradually constructed, and this description extends to the visual arts as well. Certain process-oriented thinking skills are inherent in both, including comprehending and composing, regenerating ideas, the application of language learning and processing. Five characteristics of…

Recent research suggests that information must be made meaningful to students before they will comprehend and remember it. However, because so much curriculum is learned in isolation, many students miss the connections between such disciplines as literature and history. One solution is to connect the teaching of history and literature to a focal…

The effectiveness of a strategy for remembering words from a word list was investigated in subjects who were high in test anxiety versus subjects who were low in test anxiety. Sixty seventh-grade volunteers from two urban junior high schools were assigned to the strategy training group or the control group. The strategy group was instructed to…

This study explored the relationship between educational orientation and age, sex, and academic achievement. Subjects were undergraduate and graduate education students: 46 males and 67 females. The dependent variable, andragogical-pedagogical orientation, was measured by the Student Orientation Questionnaire (Christian, 1982). This instrument,…

Intended for K-12 geography teachers, this publication discusses course content and teaching methods for geography instruction. There are ten chapters. The first chapter discusses three educational philosophies which contend that the goals of education are to know, to do, and to be. Chapter 2 examines the nature of geography, discussing four…

Two learning strategies are discussed: (1) fluent and creative idea-production involving concepts and problems, and (2) metacognition, or students' awareness of and direction of their thinking. The sample included college students, as well as teachers who used these strategies in elementary and secondary mathematics classrooms. Techniques for…

In the last edition of "Teaching History", Maria Osowiecki described in detail the fourth lesson in a five-lesson enquiry entitled: What was remarkable about the Renaissance? She also shared her resources for two lively, interactive activities--the Renaissance Party and a balloon debate. Here she complements that piece with a full…

Discusses curriculum changes needed in elementary and secondary schools in response to broader social change involved in the information revolution. Highlights include the role of federal, state, and local agencies, private industry initiatives, the role of technology, and the importance of problem solving skills. Twenty-five references are…