This study investigates the fate of claims made by middle school science students working in collaborative groups in a multicultural urban classroom and the concomitant effects on engagement and understanding. Given problems of a complex and open-ended nature in a learning community setting, students were challenged to establish group positions…

Visits to more than 900 schools revealed that what is most longed for by teachers and students is a more caring environment. The Learning How to Care: Education for Parenting program (LHTC) curriculum for kindergarten through grade 12 was created to teach youth an alternative to violence and to link the concepts of parenting and caring. Caring is…

International interest in the use of the Internet and the World Wide Web in learning environments has become the major area of focus for many educators and instructional designers. While few dispute the value of hypermedia in instruction and training, the design, development, and implementation of Web-based learning has not been researched in any…

This paper focuses on the purposes, theoretical model, and functionality of the SMILE (Solution Mapping Intelligent Learning Environment) Maker--a World Wide Web-based problem-solving tool. From an instructional design point of view, an attempt to establish a balance between constructivism/instructivism, content-treatment…

The Bridging Cultures Project is a collaboration among several researchers and teachers (n=8) to design professional development activities on the topic of cross-cultural understanding. During the fall of 1996, participating teachers will be given a pre-assessment and post-assessment. The assessments are designed to give some information on how…

This paper describes one model of school reconstruction, which includes a professional development school, being implemented at Celebration School in Celebration, Florida. The description highlights the educational practices and daily learning experiences of students at Celebration. The narrative provides a picture of the philosophical foundation…

The benefits of high-level mathematics packages such as Matlab include both a computer algebra system and the ability to provide students with concrete visual examples. This paper discusses how both capabilities of Matlab were used in a multivariate calculus class. Graphical user interfaces which display three-dimensional surfaces, contour plots,…

This paper explains the importance of disposition as an essential aspect of critical thinking and suggests how instruction can be designed to promote learners' development of the dispositional side of critical thinking. Topics addressed include: (1) the dispositional bottleneck between opportunity and action, i.e., sensitivity to occasion; (2)…

Reviews recent research on problem solving, summarizing differences between problem-solving styles of novices and experts. Also describes a text by Daniel Solow ("How to Read and Do Proofs"). Includes chapter titles for the text useful for students who wish to improve their understanding of mathematical reasoning. (JM)

Describes a course designed to expose neophytes to methodology used in chemical process industries to evaluate commercial feasibility of proposed projects. Previously acquired disciplines are integrated to facilitate process synthesis, gain appreciation of nature of industrial projects and industrial viewpoint in managing them, and to become adept…

Describes an interactive computer game (for Apple II) designed to challenge students' problem-solving skills. The game is appropriate for science/mathematics classes from high school to college (particularly in logical problem-solving units). Includes game design/operation and list of characteristics of scientific research (as applied to general…

MAARDAC (Mid-Atlantic/Appalachian Race Desegregation Assistance Center), located at the University of Tennessee (Knoxville), is federally funded (Title IV of Civil Rights Act of 1964) to help local education agencies in Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee solve problems connected with school desegregation. (LC)

Describes a pilot program at Briar Glen School in Glen Ellyn, Illinois, in which academically gifted fifth grade students are introduced to microcomputers, taught basic programing skills, and allowed to develop computer programs in BASIC after they have mastered some fundamental computer skills. (JL)

Describes a summer program for prefreshman science students entering Xavier University, designed to develop their problem-solving and academic abilities by emphasizing the connection between reading comprehension and analytical skills. (MKM)

In the first of a three-part series, the authors examine the origin of the organizational development movement, instrumented team learning seminars for managers, their experimental programs for industry at various locations, the development of the "managerial grid," management by objectives, behavior modification, and other approaches to…