As young children encounter animal and plant life, they are eager to figure out where plants and animals come from, which plants are edible, and which animals like to eat different plants. Gardening experiences provide ample opportunities to explore how plants grow, what plants need to grow, how to care for plants, and how to harvest the edible…

Many parents find it hard to make decisions about screen time for their kids because advice comes from different directions and often conflicts. In the field of child development, there are decades of theory and research that can be very helpful as a guide for screen and digital device use with young kids. These ideas can be a resource for parents…

What if you could remove time and space pressures from the process of teaching and learning? The authors of "Off the Clock" not only suggest this, but they have implemented it in New Hampshire. Due in part to their work, the New England Consortium won the 2011 Frank Newman Award for State Innovation through the Education Commission of…

The National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) documents dimensions of quality in undergraduate education and provides information and assistance to colleges, universities, and other organizations to improve student learning. Its primary activity is annually surveying college students to assess the extent to which they engage in educational…

This book presents findings of a 1993 study of how design in the curriculum helps students achieve national educational objectives. It also explores opportunities for expanding the role design can play in students' academic lives. Results of the 1993 study reveal how the use of design experiences in classrooms provides teachers and students with a…

Looking for relevant material for the Adolescent Psychology course she teaches, the author's attention was drawn to a book by Thomas Cottle, "Mind Fields: Adolescent Consciousness in a Culture of Distraction" (2001). Robert Frost's quotation, "Grant me intention, purpose, and design--That's near enough for me to the Divine," in the frontispiece…

This issue of the quarterly newsletter, "PLAINTalk," is the first in a four part series, reprinting chapters from Sharon and Craig Ramey's book, "Going to School." This issue presents practical and useful techniques for parents, covering the following topics: (1) How Parents Can Help Children Learn; (2) How Does Your Child's Brain Work; (3) The…

Divided into three parts, this book reviews the basic concepts of the High/Scope preschool curriculum and its development, implementation, and effectiveness. The introduction offers a retrospective of the program's history, describes the five basic principles that form the framework of the approach, and discusses some of the reasons for its…