Compared to home life, schools resemble crossroads, village squares, marketplaces, and cities. Increasing deliberative interactions among diverse students helps instill habits of behavior necessary for public life: the courtesies, manners, tolerance, respect, sense of justice, and knack for forging public policy with others. This article explains…

Groups of teachers and schools can bridge the theory-practice gap by using the Web-based Integrated Science Environment (WISE) project library. The WISE learning environment promotes lifelong learning along with language and technology literacy by making science accessible, thinking visible, and learning a cooperative experience. (Contains 16…

In April 2000, the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics will release "Principles and Standards in School Mathematics," a revised document stressing conceptual understanding and reasoning. NCTM standards specify that curricula should emphasize five mathematical processes: problem solving, reasoning and proof, communication,…

Research has revealed distinct differences in the problem-solving approaches of high- and low-aptitude students. As a consequence, content area teachers can focus on thinking skills by having students describe their mental processes and giving them feedback on erroneous or incomplete reasoning. (TE)

The nation's educational system mirrors the dynamics of our marketplace democracy, recasting parents as self-interested consumers. Jane Addams' philosophy of education (enhancing people's productive capacities to benefit the commonweal) has been revived in Public Achievement, a work-centered, civic-earning program in St.Paul, Minnesota, that helps…

By combining hands-on research and telecommunications, the National Geographic Society's Kids Network enables K-8 students to grapple with basic science and geography concepts, hone communication and research skills, and network with kids around the world. Students focus on real-world problems, work cooperatively, and share results in class…

Elaborates on the article "Synthesis of Research on the Effectiveness of Intellectual Skills Programs: Snake-Oil Remedies or Miracle Cures?" by Sternberg and Bhana. Encourages the development of a theory that could provide a guide to the infusion of thinking instruction into any area of inquiry. (IW)

Students attending a Minnesota school in a middle-class neighborhood are finding that cooperation, conflict resolution, and civic values are creating a safe haven from the stresses of family and neighborhood life. Students have two innovative programs (Continuous Progress and Discovery) to choose from. Highlands Elementary nurtures its students…

On Fridays, rather than changing classes, the students at one middle school spend all four team periods with one teacher/adviser as they pursue intensive, independent quarterly learning projects in either science, math, social studies, or English. A program evaluation showed improved student engagement, independent learning, thinking skills, and…

Medical schools are starting to put students in small groups and help them solve real problems they will face in treating patients. Trend of problem-based learning in medical schools will have ripple effect throughout education. Teachers relinquishing lecturer's role must become adept at listening, answering questions, and helping students frame…

A high-school English teacher explains how she transformed her listless, "drive-thru" classes into "partnership" classes with highly motivated students eager to demonstrate and evaluate their skills. Students could work at their own best pace so long as the work got done and had acceptable quality. (MLH)

In a four-year, longitudinal study conducted between 2000 and 2004, the author followed 700 students as they progressed through three high schools: a diverse, urban school as well as two suburban schools. Although incoming freshmen at the urban school scored significantly lower in mathematics than incoming students at the two suburban schools, by…