The latest contribution to the content standards boom that began in the 1990s comes from the American Psychological Association (APA), which recently published "National Standards for the Teaching of High School Psychology." This Digest discusses: (1) the origin and purposes of the project to develop standards for high school psychology…

The activity book is designed to help children learn that writing messages and stories will help them see the value of learning to spell. The activity book's program is based on the ideas that accurate spelling contributes to the clarity of written messages; spelling accuracy shows attention to detail, sending a positive message to teachers and…

Problem-Based Learning (PBL) describes a learning environment in which problems drive the learning; that is, learning begins with a problem to be solved and the problem is posed in such a way that students need to gain new knowledge before they can solve it. This ERIC Digest discusses many aspects of PBL including a brief history, implementing…

Problem-Based Learning (PBL) describes a learning environment in which problems drive the learning; that is, learning begins with a problem to be solved and the problem is posed in such a way that students need to gain new knowledge before they can solve it. This ERIC Digest discusses many aspects of PBL including PBL and problem solving, PBL and…

The Internet enables teachers to enhance the teaching and learning of history through quick and extensive access to primary sources. Introducing and using primary sources in the history classroom will almost certainly lead to active learning and development of critical thinking, reasoning, and problem solving. This Digest discusses: (1) types and…

The Level 5 activity book is designed to help children learn that writing messages and stories will help them see the value of learning to spell. The workbook's program is based on the ideas that accurate spelling contributes to the clarity of written messages; spelling accuracy shows attention to detail, sending a positive message to teachers and…

Problem-based learning (PBL) is an educational approach that challenges students to "learn to learn"--students work cooperatively in groups to seek solutions to real-world problems and, more importantly, to develop skills to become self-directed learners. PBL is unique in its integral emphasis on core content along with problem solving.…

This ERIC Digest describes what primary sources are and how and why they can be used in elementary school classrooms. Primary sources are historical artifacts with which students can interact to effectively engage in active learning. Topics discussed in the Digest include: "What Are Primary Sources?"; "Why Use Primary…

Each teacher has a style of teaching that provides the most effective way to help students grasp the desired learning concepts. One point teachers agree on is that teaching vocabulary to children needs to be an active process that engages students in entertaining activities and helps them build a bridge between already known vocabulary and the new…

The Foxfire approach to teaching and learning emerged from an experiential education program that used oral history methods to teach English to high school freshmen in Appalachian Georgia. In the 30 years since that program began, hundreds of teachers have helped develop and revise Foxfire's 11 core practices. This digest describes the Foxfire…

Spatial dynamics is an instructional strategy whereby students create large scale models that capture the details of a historic event. This Digest discusses classroom floor models and papier mache models. Floor models are best suited to elementary classrooms and middle schools. Papier mache models, appropriate for high school social studies…

This book guides parents and children in developing strategies to figure out words. The first chapter, Skills for Identifying Words, presents general strategies for making sense of words, and for using the eyes and ears to identify words. The first chapter also offers listening and visual exercises. The second chapter, Using Phonics To Identify…

This book offers suggestions to help parents make their children successful readers and learners. The first chapter, Getting Started, discusses setting an example, being a tutor, creating a positive environment, and letting children be the stars. The second chapter, The Reading Process: Building Meaning, discusses setting a purpose, stages of the…

Place-based education, which draws from local culture, history, and geography to create a meaningful curriculum, holds particular promise for rural homeschooling. Following a brief review of the homeschooling phenomenon, this digest identifies ways that rural place-based education can counter common concerns about homeschooling. In 1999 about 1.7…

This digest contains four sections that discuss the following broad principles that offer a framework to teachers for thinking about how technology can support their instruction: (1) learning occurs in context, including ways that technology can facilitate learning by providing real world contexts that engage learners in solving complex problems,…