Extension educators can play a role in resolving environmental disputes by applying Hackman's group effectiveness model for consensus-based decision making. The model focuses equal attention on personal needs, interpersonal relationships, and solutions that are acceptable to all stakeholders. (SK)

Describes an advanced undergraduate course introductory course designed to integrate two ways sociologists examine literature. Presents sociology of literature through reading fictional works, like Dickens'"Hard Times," that deal with sociological issues. Writing assignments provide opportunities to test ideas about authors, critics, and…

A nationwide survey of 263 parents, teachers, and other professionals and interviews with 24 teachers investigated the perceived importance of social skills instruction for students with disabilities. Both teachers and other professionals rated social skills as more important than did parents, regardless of student age or disability severity.…

Outlines 10 basic principles for teaching introductory sociology. Argues students must understand fundamental sociological metaconcepts that distinguish the sociological construction of society. Wishes to undermine implicit ethnocentrism and encourage tolerance as an alternative. Suggests sociological perspective is needed to solve social…

A videotape/bulletin package to promote rational alertness regarding pesticides and food was tested with 146 people. Although 68 percent judged the presentation balanced, developers found that programing about risk/benefit issues requires special attention to the way information is communicated. (SK)

Describes experience of implementing new California History Social Science Framework at the tenth grade level at Edison High School, Huntington Beach, California. Discusses the anxieties felt by teachers as they omitted areas of world history to teach selected topics in greater depth. Presents the world history course structure that was developed…

Investigates the process by which books become canonized in British and U.S. schools and universities. Uses the case of George Orwell to examine the institutional and historical factors which condition the inclusion and exclusion of writer's work in Anglo-American classrooms. (SR)

Presents results of an empirical study of the curriculum of the Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) methods course in the United States. Information is provided about the content of the TESOL methods course, its goals, requirements, instructional materials, and common problems, and the identification of possible avenues for…

Discusses the possibilities of using situated learning theory in distance education and describes the instructional design of a course on soil and the environment offered at the Open University of the Netherlands that incorporates situated learning. The use of interactive videodisk is described. (Contains 49 references.) (LRW)

Presents an approach to analyzing classroom talk that sheds light on the intellectual work of the classroom. Analyzes the teaching-learning interaction in a ninth-grade English classroom where a writing lesson was being undertaken. (HB)

Describes a classroom skit intended to depict negative and positive discussions of issues raised by the O.J. Simpson trial as a way of heightening racial awareness. Adaptations of the skit for other current events related to race relations are suggested. (SK)

Presents an analogy used in introductory college chemistry to help students understand the procedure for determining the percentage purity of sodium carbonate. Employs a monetary analogy. (DDR)

Describes how to plan an online course based on experiences with a college computer-science course. Topics include course layout, HTML conversion, uploading files to the server and editing, online testing, the initial class meeting, student course evaluations, a summary of student perceptions, and course revisions. (LRW)

A religion professor reflects on her approach and experiences in teaching an upper-level course on religion and sexual diversity, looking at conditions in the classroom that create the tolerance needed for discussion, the nature of subsequent classroom discussions of the relationship between body and spirit and about celibacy, and student…

Describes an experience teaching curriculum design to students of educational administration, using synchronous video to teach students at both a distant location and in a university classroom. Topics discussed include the role of the teacher in interactive video conferencing, differing approaches to different kinds of course content, and…