Successful strategies for incorporating engineering design challenges into science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) courses in American high schools are presented in this paper. The developers have taken the position that engineering design experiences should be an important component of the high school education of all American…

A problematic trend in the nature of work in educational settings has been the declining emphasis on a professional orientation to work and a growing emphasis on more technocratic approaches. This international trend has led to increased attention on skills and competencies and lessened attention to values, beliefs, motivations, energy, and…

Learner-Centered, Information-Age schools have been proposed in "Educational Technology" and in other publications. This article reviews the experience of the New Technology Foundation, a school-development organization, working since 2001 to support 51 communities in 10 states to launch and implement 21st Century High Schools, based on…

Molecular biology is a difficult comprehension subject due to its high complexity, thus requiring new teaching approaches. Herein, we developed an interdisciplinary board game involving the human immune system response against a bacterial infection for teaching molecular biology at high school. Initially, we created a database with several…

Research on high school students using the Perry scheme (progressing from dualism to multiplicity, contextual relativism, and dialectic reasoning) suggests gifted students are at least one stage ahead of their agemates. While most students are grasping the notion of unanswered questions, gifted students are seeking structures to help them explain…

Establishing schooling/larger world connections is critical for adolescents. The contextual learning approach views learning as most effective when information is presented within a familiar framework. Employing puzzles, hands-on learning activities, project-based learning, contextual connections, applied math, mentoring, and wider audiences…

Problem-based learning is designed to maximize active student participation in the learning process, foster student problem-solving and self-education skills, enhance student self-assessment, increase student communication skills, and improve student abilities to access and use information resources. A Texas high school's innovative problem-based…

A problem-based learning process in a social studies teacher's classroom encourages students to use their own learning profiles to assess individual test-taking skills, develop and implement strategies to improve performance, and monitor, regulate, and evaluate the success of their adopted methods. AMSOFT computer software divides exam subtexts…