Maintains that, over the past 50 years, social studies educators have suggested a number of conceptual pathways for approaching their area of academic study. Presents six models: (1) cultural transmission; (2) social action; (3) life adjustment; (4) discovery; (5) inquiry; and (6) multiculturalism. (CFR)

Describes software programs available to social studies teachers. Focuses on FutureFone, a simulation of a telephone system of the year 2000 featuring online services likely to be widely available then, including geography, news, and history of the 1990s. Emphasizes that the program is designed to develop inductive analysis. (DK)

Asserts that art teachers must understand current learning theory and implement new cognitive concepts to provide the best art education for K-12 students. Reviews major ideas in cognitive learning theory, focusing on the idea that thinking is domain, or content, specific. (CFR)

Describes the West Vancouver (British Columbia) School Board's goals related to the appropriate and effective use of information technology as both a school and a community resource. Highlights include social issues, learning issues, professional and personal competencies for teacher-librarians, integration of information delivery systems, and a…

In inclusive education different pupils, including pupils with special educational needs and high ability pupils, can be stimulated to learn according to their capacities and potentials. The research question concentrates on the design features of inclusive education that will optimally promote the motivation and learning processes and outcomes of…

In the practice of teacher education, most would agree that critical reflection in and on the process of learning to teach and the activities of teaching play a central role in teachers' professional development. Using Vygotskian sociocultural theory, we examine how narrative inquiry functions as a culturally developed tool that mediates teachers'…

Stephen Brookfield has written and edited 10 books on adult learning, teaching, and critical thinking. He is a recipient of a number of awards, including the World Award for Literature in Adult Education (in 1986, 1989, 1996, and 2005), the Imogene Okes Award for Outstanding Research in Adult Education (in 1986), and the Leadership Award from the…

Drawing on existing work in the area of creativity and early years education, this paper maps the process of an exploratory study which sought to identify what characterizes "possibility thinking" as an aspect of creativity in young children's learning. With the aim of developing a framework for identifying "possibility…

This book reviews the history of the University of Chicago Laboratory School established by John Dewey in light of the current resurgent interest in the ideas and work of this educator. Chapter 1 deals with two lessons: the social nature of learning and developmentally appropriate practice. Chapter 2 examines the laboratory school idea as…

The main focus of this project was to prepare a handbook of science activities and to disseminate this handbook to K-8 teachers of the hearing-impaired in the State of Indiana. The handbook, titled "Doing Science Using the Learning Cycle," was developed by a select group of teachers and several consultants with expertise in curriculum…

This paper describes the use of electronic journals (e-journals) and technology portfolios as an instructional strategy in preservice teacher education technology courses. Introduction to Media and Computers in Teaching is an introductory level, two-credit, preservice teacher education course offered at the University of Virginia. In this course,…

This paper describes a computer-supported environment designed to facilitate distance learning through collaborative problem-solving. The goal is to encourage distance learning students to work together, in order to promote both learning of collaboration and learning through collaboration. Collaboration is defined as working together on a common…

The Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) is undertaking a comprehensive assessment of literacy in the United States. The assessment will examine how technology offers new resources and creates opportunities to reach learners and improve productivity of learning. OTA will identify ways to increase learning access in existing programs and overcome…

People use and extend their knowledge of the physical world constantly. Understanding how this fluency is achieved would be an important milestone in understanding human learning and intelligence, as well as a useful guide for constructing machines that learn. This paper presents a theoretical framework that is being developed in an attempt to…

Papers in this report were presented at a conference on text characteristics, convened as part of the Learning from Text Project. The foreword describes the University of California and California State University Joint Projects Steering Committee project to determine the relationship between ability to learn from text and academic achievement,…